Srinagar:
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to personally intervene in the Kashmir situation.
Speaking to NDTV, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said, "Mainstream parties will become irrelevant if the situation in Kashmir doesn't change.
Mufti's statement comes a day after 17 columns of the Army were called on to the streets of Srinagar after a week of fragile peace was ripped open by a fresh spate of civilian deaths in clashes between protesters and security forces. The Army was deployed here after 15 years.
A grim Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had worked the phone lines to Delhi and made it clear that it was time to use the last line of defence. And after some debate on the political impact of the move, it was eventually a thumbs up from New Delhi, where the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met to discuss Kashmir.
Sources said the Army's mandate is only to be a deterrent against a worsening security situation. The Army, they said, would not be used for crowd control or in crowded inner-city neighbourhoods where it could come in direct confrontation with protesters.
Instead, the soldiers would keep an eye from the periphery, but with the aim of sending out a strong message. The priority right now was to restore law and order and bring down tempers. The Army took out several flag marches through the city.
But the Opposition said this should never have happened. "Ironically, the Chief Minister himself has said that the unrest underlines the failure of a political process in the Valley and the urgent need to revive a domestic dialogue," PDP's Mehbooba Mufti had said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in a clear message to those fomenting violence in Kashmir, the Centre asked the state to deal "sternly" with the "anti-nationals and vested interests" creating unrest in the Valley.
Union Home Secretary GK Pillai told NDTV that the state government had been told to crack down on trouble-makers.(
J&K govt told to crack down on trouble-makers: GK Pillai )
"The situation is under control in Srinagar and is being watched closely. More paramilitary forces are being sent there. The state government has been told to crack down on trouble-makers," he said.
Home Secretary G K Pillai chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday night to review the situation in the Valley during which he asked the officials to ensure that no guilty person be allowed to go scot-free and efforts should be made to ensure safety of innocent civilians, official sources said. (With PTI inputs)