Need to change J&K discourse: Jitendra Singh

There is a need to “change the discourse” around Jammu and Kashmir as there is no such thing as the Kashmir issue, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said, stressing that the only “point of debate” is retrieving Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Minister of State in the PMO said this after paying pictorial homage to the martyrs of Jammu and Kashmir Police and slain Army officer Lt Ummer Fayaz here yesterday.
Lt Fayaz’s Facebook page, letters during his Army training days as well as the photographs of slain J&K Police officers Mohammed Ayoub Pandith, Feroz Ahmed Dar and others were on display at the event. Lt Fayaz, an Army officer of Rajputana Rifles, was abducted and killed by militants in Shopian district on May 9 this year.
Srinagar Deputy SP Mohammed Ayub Pandith was lynched to death outside Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta on June 22, while Sub-inspector Feroz Ahmed Dar was killed by LeT terrorists in Anantnag on June 16.
“There is a need to change the discourse (on Jammu and Kashmir) for future generations. We have to change the agenda. There is no such issue as a Kashmir issue. It is as much a part of India as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or any other state.
“The only issue if at all is how to retrieve a part of Kashmir which is under the illegal occupation of Pakistan for the past 70 years and restore the Valley in the same format as was handed over by Maharaja Hari Singh,” Singh said.
He underlined the Central government’s “proactive” steps in bringing development to the Valley, especially with respect to neutralising extremist forces.
“The border dwellers, in spite of the hardships they face, have asked us to take strong action against cross-border shelling. We have given our forces confidence and freedom to act on the borders, and the results are for everyone to see.
“We have been able to neutralise many terrorists and foil infiltration bids. Our crackdown on terror funding in the Valley is another step towards restoring normalcy in the state,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, who was also present on the occasion, said the Modi government was the only “ray of hope” for the people. “In a first, the Centre and the state government are on the same page with regard to dealing with terrorism and separatism,” he said.
On questions being raised against the PDP-BJP coalition in the state, the Deputy CM said such an alliance was a “bold decision. We had to leave a lot of issues dear to us for the larger interest of the state”.