'India-Pak talks only on PoK now'

A soldier stands alert in a truck while travelling in a convoy in Srinagar on Sunday. Pic/AFP

Kalka/Jammu: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here on Sunday said there would be no talks with Pakistan unless it acts against terrorists. And, if talks were held with Islamabad in future, they would be only on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Singh said at a rally ahead of the flagging off BJP's Jan Ashirwad Yatra for the October assembly polls in Haryana.

On the scrapping of the provision granting a special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, Singh said the decisions had sent jitters to Pakistan and it became a cause of concern for them. "Now it (Pakistan) is knocking every door and approaching various nations for help. Have we committed any crime? And they are trying to threaten us.

However, the US has snubbed Pakistan, telling them to initiate a dialogue with India," he said. Singh said people in Pakistan say there should be talks with India. "What should we talk about? Why there should be a talk? If there would be any talk with Pakistan, it would happen only when it stops supporting terror from its soil," he said.

Rajnath Singh

Singh also accused Pakistan of wanting to destabilise and weaken India through terrorism. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who remained in denial on Balakot strike, had recently said India was planning a bigger strike than Balakot which means he admitted Balakot airstrike took place, Singh said.

Restrictions reimposed

Meanwhile, were reimposed in certain areas in Srinagar which witnessed trouble on Saturday after the curbs were eased in several areas of the city and elsewhere in the valley, even as the first batch of Haj pilgrims returned to J&K from Saudi Arabia, officials said. They said protests took place at around a dozen places in which several protesters were injured.

The officials said the flights carrying around 300 pilgrims landed at the Srinagar airport in the morning. "Only one family member is allowed at the airport to receive the Hajis. A fleet of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses has been deployed to facilitate the movement of Hajis and their relatives with the coordination of all district administrations," they added.

Internet blocked again

Low-speed (2G) mobile internet services were once again snapped in five districts of Jammu region on Sunday to check rumour-mongering, a day after the services were restored. Low-speed internet services were restored in five districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday after remaining suspended for nearly a fortnight.

Ex-defence officers file plea
Meanwhile, a group of former defence officers and bureaucrats have moved the Supreme Court challenging the presidential order, calling it "unconstitutional, void and inoperative", and the abrogation of Article 370.

The fresh plea has been filed by former member of the Home Ministry's Group of Interlocutors for J&K (2010-11) professor Radha Kumar, former IAS officer of J&K cadre Hindal Haidar Tyabji, Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Kapil Kak, major general (retd) Ashok Kumar Mehta, former Punjab cadre IAS officer Amitabha Pande and ex-Kerala cadre IAS officer Gopal Pillai, who retired as Union home secretary in 2011.

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