NEW DELHI - Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said the government's "muscular militaristic approach" won't help in solving problems in Kashmir.
He also came out in support of Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra for saying that the rules of engagement for handling conflicts calls for restraint.
"The fundamental flaw is the belief that a muscular militaristic approach will lead to a solution in Kashmir," Chidambaram tweeted.
"Governor Vohra is absolutely right when he said that rules of engagement for handling internal conflicts called for 'restraint', he added.
The former home minister also hit out at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for saying that people in her state "are fleeing their homes, schools are closed and children are caged in their homes".
"Did she not know this will be the result of a misguided policy?" Chidambaram asked.
On January 7, 2018, too, he had hit out at the Centre for failing to restore peace in the Kashmir Valley link> and had said that Modi government`s "hard, muscular and militaristic" approach had failed to end militancy in the state.
Chidambaram had quoted statistics to say that the number of civilians and terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir had almost doubled from 28 to 57 and from 110 to 218 from 2014 to 2017 respectively.
"If you are one of those who had thought that the hard, muscular, militaristic approach of the government should be given a chance, you may change your view," he had said.
The Congress had leader added that wisdom lay in actively working towards a political solution to the issues of J&K, where a separatist campaign raging since 1989 has claimed thousands of lives.
"Both AB Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh will be remembered for the diligent efforts to find a solution to the issue", Chidambaram had said.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that India had shown it can attack its enemies not only on its soil, but also in a foreign territory, if need be.