Srinagar: New Delhi’s interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma paid his first visit to Pulwama district in South Kashmir on Sunday. The district has been on the boil since the killing of Hizb Commander Burhan Wani.
Sharma arrived here from Jammu and met around 12 delegations which comprised youths and students from the area, sources said.
An all-girls delegation also met Sharma and urged him to improve the education sector and create avenues for employment in the state.
Some of the youth delegations requested Sharma for an early and impartial probe into the arrest of photojournalist Kamran Yousuf by NIA.
Sources informed KNS that Sharma was likely to visit Anantnag district in South Kashmir tomorrow.
The delegations also highlighted that the national media, especially electronic media, was portraying Kashmir in bad light and urged him to ensure immediate end to this biased coverage.
Some of the groups also claimed excesses by the government forces.
After his first visit to Kashmir Valley, Sharma suggested that cases against 4,500 youths involved in stone pelting for the first time be dropped in a bid to win hearts. Over 11,500 cases against stone pelters have been registered since July last year following Wani’s death. Of these, over 4,500 youths were first-time stone pelters.
(With inputs from KNS)
