Union Minister Jitendra Singh today claimed that terrorism was in its "last stage" in Kashmir and over 600 militants had been killed because of the government's decisive actions on the anti-terrorism front.
His remarks come ahead of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's expected visit to Jammu and Kashmir next week.
"The decisive actions that the government has taken... 600 militants have been killed during the period, and this is much higher than the number of militants killed during the UPA-I and UPA-II (governments). Terrorism in the Valley is in its last stage," he told reporters here.
Replying to a question on whether the cessation of anti-terror operations be followed by talks with Pakistan and separatists, he said, "The Government of India will take a decision which will be in the interest of the country."
On talks with separatist, the Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office said, "Everybody is welcome to talk. Nobody has said that we are going to send an invitation to the separatists. Anybody (any Indian citizen) is welcome to meet me."
He reaffirmed the Centre's commitment to pay special attention to Jammu and Kashmir