“Our fight is for Kashmir, not against Kashmiris,” says Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is the Prime Minister’s first reaction to the harassment that people of the state have witnessed since the terrorist attack in Pulwama on February 14.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the country’s struggle after the attack in Jammu and Kashmir Pulwama on February 14 was against terrorism and not against the people of Kashmir, the ANI reported.

PM Narendra Modi at a public rally in Tonk, Rajasthan: Our fight is against terrorism & enemies of humanity. Our fight is for Kashmir not against Kashmir, not against Kashmiris. What happened to Kashmiri students in last few days, such things should not happen in this country. pic.twitter.com/4pmLVhh4H5

— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2019

“Our fight is against terrorism and the enemies of humanity,” Modi said at a public rally in Tonk in Rajasthan. “Our fight is for Kashmir, not against Kashmir, not against Kashmir.”

Reacting for the first time to the various incidents of violence reported against Kashmiri students, Modi said that they should not have happened. “What happened to Kashmiri students in the last days, those things should not happen in this country,” he said. After the Supreme Court ordered the central government and the states led by the Bharatiya Janata Party to take measures to guarantee the safety of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Center issued a notice to all states and territories of the Union.

Modi said the youth of Kashmir was also disturbed by terrorism, PTI reported. “They are with the people of the country,” he said, adding that the residents of the state had suffered terrorism for the past 40 years and wanted peace.

Modi paid homage to the 40 jawans of the CRPF who died in the Pulwama attack and said that the world was with the families of the dead soldiers. “Not only India, the whole world is with you [families],” he said. “Have faith in the soldiers and the government.”

Modi said the world would not experience peace if terrorist factories were allowed to work. “Today, there is a consensus against terrorism,” he said, adding that harsh measures were taken against separatists in Jammu and Kashmir. “We are moving forward with strength on each front.”

During the past week, the state government withdrew security coverage from several separatist leaders, including Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Hashim Qureshi, Bilal Lone and Abdul Ghani Bhat.