Ceasefire in J&K not for militants: Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday said that the ceasefire announced by the Centre in Jammu and Kashmir during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan does not apply to militants.

"Don't take the ceasefire decision in a wrong way," Shah said while speaking at the India TV Conclave here.

"When the army or paramilitary forces take action, it is not limited to terrorists only," he said.

"A big area has to be covered, schools and homes have to be vacated and after that action is taken. So, the decision was taken to take no action during Ramadan."

At the same time he said that if militants carry out attacks, "our soldiers are free to take action".

"This ceasefire is not for terrorists. This ceasefire is for people to discharge their religious rituals in a peaceful manner," Shah said.

"The BJP government has taken the decision to ruthlessly uproot terrorism," he added.

The Centre on Wednesday announced a ceasefire in the troubled state, asking security forces to halt their operations during the Ramadan to help "peace loving Muslims" observe the holy month in a peaceful environment.

Referring to the surgical strike carried out by the Indian Army in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in 2016 following the cross-border terror attack on an army camp in Uri that claimed the lives of 19 Indian soldiers, the BJP President said that "had this government of India under (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi not taken the decision, the Indian Army would not have carried out surgical strikes, and the people of India could not have said with pride that our country's soldiers cannot be played with".

"After the surgical strike, the world's view of India has changed,a Shah said.

"Now, the whole world accepts that after the US and Israel, if any country can take revenge against terrorists, it is India."

Regarding Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, the alleged brain behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Shah said that India has broken his back and his men.

"The BJP government has selectively targeted them and threw them away," he said.

--IANS

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