New Delhi: In his first visit after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was scrapped, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat will be in Srinagar on Friday to review the security situation and preparedness of security forces in the wake of increased ceasefire violations.
The visit of the army chief comes even as Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik and Ministry of External Affairs were stressing that normalcy is returning to the Valley.
On Wednesday, Malik said there have been no civilian casualties in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. "We managed to keep things under control during Panchayat elections, Lok Sabha elections and even now. Every Kashmiri life is valuable to us, we don't want the loss of even a single life. There has been no civilian casualty, only the few who got violent are injured," he said in a press conference in Srinagar.
He had announced that the government will open 50 new colleges in the region to enhance educational facilities in the Valley.
Security was beefed up in the region after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on August 5.
The issue has also led to a slugfest between India and Pakistan, with the neighbour trying to internationalise the matter. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.
Pakistan has said the resolution of the Kashmir issue as per the UN resolutions was its top foreign policy agenda. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan has always supported bilateral talks with India, but the Indian leadership was not ready for it. "Resolution of Kashmir according to UN resolutions is corner stone of our foreign policy," Faisal said.
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