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Situation improving: Patil

NEW DELHI: The situation in violence-hit Jammu is improving, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said on his return here after a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir with an all-party delegation.

Mr. Patil told journalists on Sunday that blockades had been removed and the road from the valley to Jammu and to Punjab had been cleared.

He would apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the situation in the State and on the outcome of talks with agitators.

Most of the leaders in the delegation expressed the confidence that the situation could be resolved through dialogue.

However, Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference, who had to stay away from talks in Jammu with Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, criticised the move for economic blockade and said “those who think that they can do economic blockade, cannot do it.”

BJP leader Arun Jaitley felt the dialogue process should have begun earlier.

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad cautioned against attempts to misuse the situation and cross the Line of Control to counter the economic blockade.

Mr. Azad appealed to the Samiti to give up the agitation and help the government in restoring peace.

Making an appeal against any attempt to divide people on communal lines, Communist Party of India leader D. Raja said the dialogue process had begun and a solution, that was acceptable to both regions and all sections of the people, would be found.

He expressed the hope that the Home Minister would convene a meeting of the delegates to arrive at a consensus on the way ahead before meeting the Prime Minister.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said the agitation was “harming the country” and the issue could be resolved through dialogue.

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