Truce extension: Centre to consider Amarnath yatris' safety

SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held deliberations on Friday with home minister Rajnath Singh and others on whether to extend the suspension of operations in J&K amid indications that the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari and Armyman Aurangzeb may not have a decisive impact on the final decision.

Sources said while the twin killings and the spurt in terrorist violence that preceded them have certainly vitiated the atmosphere, the decision on whether to continue the suspension of operations will be determined by a larger gamut of factors, including the safety of Amarnath pilgrims.

The increase in violence seems to have hardened the position of those within BJP who are pressing for resumption of operations after Eid and this was reflected in the comment of J&K deputy CM Kavinder Gupta, who said suspension of operations would end with the festival.

"The Ramzan ceasefire will end with Eid on Saturday," Gupta told a TV channel. "We had offered a goodwill gesture to militants... but they killed civilians and stepped up terror activities... Keeping in view the non-cooperation from the other side, it has been decided to end the suspension of operations," he added.

"Some pro-Pakistan elements would never want peace to be restored in the state. So they always try to vitiate the atmosphere by resorting to violence," he further said.

While this reflected a toughening of stance, the safety of Amarnath yatris is a bigger concern for BJP. The Centre is not willing to take the risk of letting terrorists exploit the lull in operations to target Amarnath pilgrims. The optics of unarmed Shiv devotees being felled by terrorists' bullets at a time when Pakistan is violating the ceasefire with impunity can play badly in the run-up to state and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

There was an uptick in violence after the Centre suspended operations during Ramzan. Terrorists killed almost 50 people. Besides terror attacks, stone-pelting on the forces remained rampant, injuring dozens of people.

Meanwhile, in view of Eid, the BJP-PDP government ordered the release of 115 prisoners from state jails.