Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will meet here later this week for a “threadbare” discussion on the situation in Kashmir, but cautioned that he can’t pull off a miracle to resolve the crisis.
“A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security is being called shortly to discuss the situation in the Kashmir Valley,” Manmohan Singh said in an interaction with senior journalists at his official residence.

“I cannot promise you that I will produce a rabbit out of my hat…the country must learn to be patient,” he added.

Alluding to seething unrest in the valley since June 11, the prime minister underlined the need for a different attitude to riot control. No lethal weapons but more humane methods should be used to deal with the crowds, he said.

He also backed more powers for Jammu and Kashmir Police. “Sometime it will work, sometimes it will not work,” he said.

Manmohan Singh admitted that the internal dimension of the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has gone down but other issues remained.

“We are still groping for a solution,” a candid prime minister said while pointing out that the Kashmir problem has existed for 63 years and that Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had all attempted to tackle it when they were the prime minister.

Manmohan Singh’s remarks on the situation in Kashmir comes amid reports that his government is on the verge of launching another initiative to break the deadlock in the Valley.

As many as 66 people have lost their lives in the ongoing unrest in the valley that started June 11.