NEW DELHI, March 17 - Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said no power in the world can take Kashmir away from India and if need be, forces can cross border to protect the country�s territorial integrity.
�Kashmir is, was and will be ours always. No one can take it from us,� Rajnath Singh said, addressing the CNN News18 Rising India Summit.
He praised the Indian Army for its valour to secure the country and warned Pakistan, saying, �we not only secure India within, but can also cross the border to protect the country, if needed. No one should take it otherwise.�
He said India wanted good ties with Pakistan, provided it stopped aiding terrorists. �Now the US is condemning Pakistan. I don�t know what happened to Pakistan. We want good relations with Pakistan but it has refused to accept our offer of friendship. Pakistan is giving legitimacy to UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed who is establishing a political party there and wants to contest in elections,� he said.
The minister said the government was keen on finding a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem and was open to speak to anyone.
To resolve the Kashmir issue, Rajnath Singh said, the government-appointed interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma, a former Intelligence Bureau chief, who is moving forward and has invited people from all sections for talks.
He said Kashmir�s children were like his own and would not allow anyone brainwash them into radicalisation. �I want to tell those who are trying to teach jihad to innocent Kashmiri youths that they should first learn the real concept of jihad in Islam,� he said.
The minister said he had personally asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to ignore cases filed against the first-time stone-pelters.
Earlier in 2018, the Jammu and Kashmir government withdrew cases registered against 9,730 people involved in stone-pelting incidents, including first-time offenders.
�We have forgiven first-time stone-pelters. They might have been influenced by others. They are young. We need to give them a second chance,� he said.
On the issue of terrorism, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has succeeded in getting global consensus and managed to bring the international community on board.
He also highlighted the government�s efforts in dealing with Maoists. �The battle against Naxals can�t be won through bullets. We are taking several developmental initiatives in this direction. We are trying to reach those areas which have remained unreachable since independence,� he said. � IANS
