Kashmir violence: PM Modi appeals for calm, says no innocent lives must be harmed in Valley

With Kashmir on the edge, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has postponed his visit to the United States to attend Indo-US Homeland Security Dialogue scheduled for next week.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir and urged for maintaining peace and calm in the Kashmir Valley.

Talking to reporters after the conclusion of the meeting at 7, Race Course Road, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said the PM is keeping a tab on the sequence of events in Jammu and Kashmir, which is witnessing violence and protests in the wake of the killing of Hizbul Mujahedeen militant Burhan Muzaffar Wani.

While extending help to the state in every possible way, the PM has appealed to ensure that no innocent lives are harmed, added Singh.

Besides Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval attending the meeting at 7, Race Course Road, the Prime Minister`s House, here.

Modi returned on Tuesday morning after a five-day official tour of four African nations.

With Kashmir on the edge, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has postponed his visit to the United States to attend the Indo-US Homeland Security Dialogue scheduled for next week.

The Home Minister took stock of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday in a meeting with Parrikar, Jaitley, Doval and top security officials.

Mobile Internet services across the Valley and train services remained suspended for the fourth day even as mobile telephony was partially restored in the four districts of south Kashmir.

Normal life remained affected across the Valley due to the strike called by the separatists groups.

Public transport was completely off the roads while private cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places in the areas where there were no restrictions, they said.

Educational institutions in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations, while Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) have postponed the examinations due to the prevailing situation.

Most of the separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, are either in custody or house arrest.

At least 24 people have been killed in violent protests in the Kashmir Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani on Friday.