Former Union minister Prof. Saifuddin Soz on Friday said Jammu and Kashmir police chief SP Vaid deserved all praise for remaining steadfast despite pressures from political entities into the rape-and-murder of eight-year old Kathua child.“The J&K Police has risen to new heights in performance of its duty to serve the public interest in J&K State under the leadership of Dr. S.P. Vaid, the DG of the J&K Police. In fact, Dr. S.P. Vaid has shown a rare trait of high integrity and probity in his character,” Soz said in his statement issued today.“One can imagine how he must have been pressurized by the of small minds but powerful political entities and he (Vaid) remained steadfast in recent times, especially in the case of the heinous crime of rape and gruesome murder of an 8-year old child at a Kathua village,” Soz said.He said Vaid provided an unswerving and strong leadership to the police at a critical juncture.“The state’s Crime Branch deserves all praise but the task could not have been performed if Vaid had not provided his strong leadership to the police force,” he said. (PTK)