You cannot stop Kashmir unrest at gunpoint: Congress tells PM Modi

After Congress leader Saifuddin Soz said that he would have kept Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani alive for sake of dialogue, the Indian National Congress (INC) today said that instead of firing on people in the Valley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi must involve in bilateral talks.

"Being a Kashmiri, Saifuddin is much more aware about Burhan Wani's matter. There are Wani's supporters in large number. One cannot solve any matter on gunpoint. Instead of firing on people, the Prime Minister must hold bilateral talks with people of Valley," INC leader Mani Shankar Aiyar told ANI.

Yesterday, Soz stirred controversy by saying said he would have held dialogue with the Hizbul terrorist, if he was alive.

"If it was in my power I would have not let Burhan Wani die. I wanted to hold a dialogue with him. I would have made him understand that a bridge of friendship between Pakistan, Kashmir and India can be built and he could also be useful in that. But now he has died. We should understand the pain of Kashmiris," Saifuddin Soz told ANI.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the Kashmir Valley ahead of Wani's death anniversary.

Wani, who was the poster boy of the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, in Kashmir Valley, was gunned down in an encounter in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on July 8 last year.

Widespread protests erupted in the Kashmir valley after Wani's death and curfew was imposed for consecutive 53 days. However, the unrest continued for about five months after Wani's death in which 78 people, including two police personnel, were killed.