Conflict

Kashmir dialogue: Define stakeholders, otherwise it’s just another Jumla, says Congress

Srinagar: The mainstream opposition political parties on Monday expressed mixed reactions over the announcement of a sustained dialogue on Kashmir and appointing former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma as the representative of the government to initiate dialogue in the state.

The parties said that the dialogue and appointment of representatives will not be fruitful till a road map for result-oriented talks are explained and stakeholders are well-defined.

Reacting to the Home Minister’s announcement, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “The acceptance of the political nature of the Kashmir issue is a resounding defeat of those who could only see use of force as a solution.”

JK Pradesh Congress Committee President G A Mir Congress said that the party won’t welcome the statement of the Home Minister about declaring an interlocutor on Kashmir dialogue until the centre government says who the stakeholders are and what will the roadmap for dialogue be.

“This (appointing interlocutor on Kashmir) is another jumla (sentence) from BJP. Government of India has not defined the stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir even though the Agenda for Alliance promises dialogue with all stakeholders including Hurriyat. But the PDP and BJP did not do in its over three year rule,” Mir told KNS.

“Till there is no result-oriented dialogue, a fully explained list of the stakeholders and a clear roadmap about the dialogue process, Congress will keep its fingers crossed and wont welcome the announcement,” he said.

However, NC provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said that the announcement was good but it would have been better if the centre had taken forward the earlier reports too.

“The announcement is good if it the dialogue is result-oriented. However, it would have been better if the BJP-led government at the centre starts working on the two extensive reports submitted by N N Vohra and later Dileep Padgaonkar led three member interlocutors,” Wani told KNS.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh while announcing the centre’s sustained dialogue on Kashmir in New Delhi said that the former Director of IB, Dineshwar Sharma will initiate a sustained interaction and dialogue to understand legitimate aspirations of people in Jammu and Kashmir.

(With inputs from KNS)

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