Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said like every Indian, he was also deeply pained by recent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and assured the opposition parties of his government's commitment to stable and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue as per basic principles of the Constitution.
"Like every Indian, I'm also deeply pained by recent incidents and we are committed to a stable and peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue as per basic principles of the Constitution. We are committed to the welfare of the people of the state. To find a solution, we will follow the path shown by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee," said the Prime Minister while delivering the concluding remarks at the all-party meeting to review and seek suggestions on the Kashmir situation at the Parliament House here.
"When we talk about Jammu and Kashmir, then we should talk about four regions - Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," he said.
"Jammu and Kashmir, which is often referred to as the crown of India, is an age old symbol of embodying the equality of all religions where Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Muslims have co-existed for centuries. The state is not only the matter of our unity, but is also a definition of our nationalism," he added.
"We cannot reject the fact that security forces have braved all sorts of injuries. They were subjected to organised attacks despite that they maintained restraint. Data speaks that security forces are injured in large numbers," he said.
The Prime Minister said the percentage of elements, who indulge in spreading propaganda, disturbing peace and inciting children have gone down, despite vicious campaign by some.
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"This is why despite warnings from some separatist elements, the people of Jammu and Kashmir showed their faith in democratic principles during the polls," he added.
Expressing his gratitude to all political parties and leaders for expressing their feelings in one voice, Prime Minister Modi said, "It's a matter of happiness that all our friends have expressed their feelings in one voice. I'm grateful to all political parties for raising concerns over the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir."
Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who attended today's meeting, said the most important thing with regard to Jammu and Kashmir is to defuse the present tense and tragic situation.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, while addressing the media after the meeting quoted the former prime minister as saying that the former UPA regime in the last ten years in office made efforts to find practical solution to these problems.
Azad said, "We have lot of problems with the Centre, but right now we only want that the situation in J&K to normalise. Manmohan Singh ji said at the meet that most imp thing with regard to J&K is to defuse the present tense and tragic situation."
"Manmohan Singhji also said in last 10 years when we were in office, we made efforts to find practical solution to these problem, but we recognise that we didn't fully succeed and it is the Government of India's duty to come up with a roadmap for defusing the present situation."
Azad further said Dr Singh assured the government that any positive step in this endeavour would have the Congress' full cooperation.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D. Raja and Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav were among others who attended the meeting.