Brussels | Jagran News Desk: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has defended the restrictions on internet and telephone connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir and said that the steps are needed to prevent communication between ‘terrorists and their handlers’.
“It wasn’t possible to stop communications between militants without an impact on all of Kashmir. How do I cut off communication between the terrorists and their masters on the one hand, but keep the internet open for other people? I would be delighted to know,” Jaishankar said in an interview with Politico newspaper in Brussels.
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Jaishankar also said that there will be a reduction in the number of troops in the Valley.
“In the coming days in Kashmir you will see an easing up progressively,” he said.
“The kind of people who say this are people who don’t know India. Does this sound like the culture of India? People in this day and age are not willing to invest in a state with such restrictive conditions," he said, adding that weak economic development in Kashmir had played into the hands of “cross-border terrorists,” he added.
Jaishankar also ruled out the possibility of talks with Pakistan till the neighbour checked terrorism emanating from its soil.
“Terrorism is not something that is being conducted in the dark corners of Pakistan. It’s done in broad daylight,” he said.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday had said that Islamabad is ready for a ‘conditional dialogue’ with New Delhi.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
Pakistan has been trying to raise the issue at various international fora, but India has maintained that it is an internal matter.