Current unrest in Kashmir has religious tinge: PDP leader

PDP, which is in power in Jammu and Kashmir, today told the all-party meeting here that the current unrest has a religious tinge which is different from the past such episodes.
Senior PDP leader Muzaffar Baig, who attended the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also said that unlike the past, the unrest is in rural areas and not in urban parts, according to sources.
Giving an insight into the violence that has been taking place in Kashmir for the last 34 days, Baig said it was different from the past episodes like in 2010 as this time there was a religious tinge to it, the sources said.

At the meeting, representatives of most of the parties favoured end to use of pellet guns which have been the cause of maximum injuries.
In the context of dialogue, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said there is no use in talking to the "old faces" as the current unrest involves mainly the young people, the sources said.
His party colleague Derek O'Brien disapproved of the state government's repeated snapping of mobile internet services.

He said rather than suspending the services, the government should communicate more with the youngsters using the internet whose density has gone up from 3 per cent to 30 per cent in the valley in the last few years.

DMK leader Kanimozhi, who was having difficulty in following the proceedings of the meeting which were mostly in Hindi, said similar was the situation with regard to Kashmiris as they were not able to understand the language of the central government, the sources said.
She said that next time, there should be mechanism for translation in such meetings.
B Mahtab of BJD said not only Pakistan, China too has a role in the unrest.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said it was better late than never that the Prime Minister had called the all-party meeting on Kashmir situation, the sources said.