BRAVING THE RAIN: People watching the Independence Day parade at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar on Tuesday. — PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday asked militants to shun violence and join the mainstream. He also called upon the separatist leadership to be part of the dialogue process that was aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue.

Speaking for the first time at the Independence Day parade after taking over as Chief Minister in November last, Mr. Azad told the gathering at the fortified Bakshi Stadium that gun was no answer to any problem and it had only brought death and destruction to the State in the last 16 years.

Mr. Azad said, "We had two roundtable conferences but they [separatists] stayed away. If they really want a solution to the problem they should join the process."

Amid tight security, a sizeable number of people turned up for the function.

The peace process between India and Pakistan had yielded results in the last two years and the confidence building measures had benefited a lot of people. Bus services to Muzaffarabad and Rawalkot were helping people on both sides meet.

Expressing the hope that the trans Line of Control road would be open for trade in the coming days, Mr. Azad said his Government was making every effort to improve the situation.

On rights violations, he said custodial killings would not be tolerated. The State Government had taken steps to eradicate corruption and give a boost to development. Even as the day went off peacefully with unprecedented security in place, there was a scare in and outside the Bakshi Stadium and Mr. Azad left before the schedule.

Reports, quoting intelligence inputs, suggested that a `fidayeen' (suicide bomber) had sneaked into the venue, triggering panic among the authorities and the people. Sources said the security forces seized a police uniform near Iqbal Park when the function was in progress. The security agencies immediately swung into action and declared an alert in the entire area. A dare devil show by policemen was called off. Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir Zone, S.M. Sahai, denied the reports, saying there was no scare and everything went off peacefully, not only in Srinagar but in the entire Kashmir. It was an incident-free day, he told The Hindu.

A general strike called by political and militant separatist organisations affected life in the Kashmir Valley. A complete shutdown was observed and traffic was off the roads. The streets wore a deserted look as people preferred to remain indoors.

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