Kashmir restrictions to curb talks between terrorists: Jaishankar

Srinagar: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar justified the restrictions on phone and mobile services in Kashmir and said it was needed to stop communication between terrorists.

In an interview to Politico magazine in Brussels, Jaishankar said, “It wasn't possible to stop communications between militants without impacting all of Kashmir. How do I cut off communication between the terrorists and their masters on the one hand, but keep the Internet open for other people? I would be delighted to know."

He also downplayed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's "warning" of an impending war between the two nuclear powers and ruled out any possibility of negotiations unless Pakistan stops financing and recruiting terrorist groups.

He also denied Imran Khan's claim that there was a Hindu nationalist agenda behind scrapping Jammu and Kashmir's special status. "The kind of people who say this are people who don't know India," he said. "Does this sound like the culture of India?"

Countries across globe have expressed concern over the security restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir after the government scrapped Article 370 which gave special status to the state.

According to news agency PTI, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged for resumption of India-Pakistan talks and stressed on the need to "restore the rights and freedoms of the Kashmir population" in her meet with Jaishankar recently.

However, the government expressed confidence that security restriction across the Valley would be eased soon.

External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had earlier said that all landline connections in Jammu and Ladakh were active, and restoration work in Kashmir was being taken up in a phased manner.