Amnesty for J&K youth involved in stone pelting

Jammu and Kashmir: The Kashmiri youth who are in jail for stone pelting can get a sigh of relief with the Kashmir government and Ministry of Home affairs working to withdraw the cases against the youth.

The decision comes in the backdrop of the advice given by Dineshwar Sharma, a special representative appointed by J&K government on the advice of the MHA.

According to the news reported in the Hindustan Times, the move is to build bridges with the disaffected young people in the Valley.

A top official spoke of MHA, spoke on the condition of anonymity that this will be done as long as the young people aren’t involved in “heinous crimes”.

Another official of the Ministry of Home affairs said that home minister Rajnath Singh is keen on working with young people of Kashmir and to reach the young, he will be travelling to Kashmir to attend the annual science congress at University of Kashmir, where he will be the chief guest.

The official further added that “He will be the first home minister to visit Kashmir University. He intends to interact with students there.”

The Director General of Police of J&K, SP Vaid said that the idea is to provide a “second chance” to stone pelters. “Kashmiri youth should be given a chance to have a better future. A review of some cases is going on and if decided by the state government, other cases will be opened up too, provided that the youth involved in the cases are not accused of heinous crimes.”