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Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar
Under a barrage of criticism from opposition parties, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Monday clarified that the "healing touch" should not be confused with any lowering of guard against terrorism.
Senior People's Democratic Party leader and state Revenue Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir also asserted that the government's resolve to resolve the Kashmir tangle should not be mistaken as a soft policy towards the militants.
Speaking on a condolence motion in the legislative council over the killings in the militant attack on Raghunath and Shiv temples in Jammu, the minister said, "Our policy of healing touch does not mean that militants will have a free run to kill innocent people."
"Such elements will be dealt with firmly," he said.
He said the policy of "healing touch" is for the common people of the state who have suffered the "worst kind of miseries" during the past 12 years. "We have to give a healing touch to the wounds of the people so that the militants get themselves isolated," he said.
"This," he said, "can be achieved only by starting a comprehensive dialogue process with the people from every sphere to restore long lasting peace in the state."
Flaying the misinformation campaign launched over the release of political detainees by the present government, the minister said, "People like Yasin Malik were roaming freely even during the previous National Conference government's rule."
Mir reiterated that the government stood firm in its resolve on not implementing the Prevention of Terrorism Act saying, "Such laws would not help in eradicating militancy and only complicate the problem."
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