TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/The central government on Wednesday announced a ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, asking security forces to halt their operations during Ramadan to help “peace loving Muslims” observe the holy month in a peaceful environment.
The announcement, reminiscent of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s similar initiative in 2000, comes barely two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Jammu to inaugurate development projects and address the sixth convocation of a university in the winter capital.
A Home Ministry statement said that security forces had been told not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month that begins on Thursday or Friday subject to the appearance of new moon. The decision was taken “to help the peace loving Muslims observe Ramzan in a peaceful environment”, the statement said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh conveyed the decision over phone to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who had appealed for a ceasefire after an all-party meeting in Srinagar on May 9 – a call that was questioned by the state BJP, the coalition partner of the PDP in the state government.
A close aide of the Chief Minister told that Rajnath Singh called her, saying the Centre has decided “a ceasefire during the month of Ramzan”. Mehbooba Mufti “wholeheartedly” welcomed the initiative and thanked Modi and Rajnath Singh “for their personal intervention”.
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