I will need to talk to everybody, says Kashmir interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

I will need to talk to everybody, says Kashmir interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
Oct 24, 2017 09:02 AM IST

Former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma is expected to visit strife-torn Kashmir within eight to 10 days.

“For a substantive dialogue, I will need to talk to everybody,’’ former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma told Hindustan Times, minutes after home minister Rajnath Singh announced his name as the government’s representative to lead a “sustained dialogue” process for Jammu and Kashmir. The state has been on the boil since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter in July last year.

File photo of Kashmiri protesters throwing rocks and bricks at an armoured vehicle belonging to paramilitary soldiers during a protest in Srinagar. Dineshwar Sharma was chosen to lead talks for peace in Kashmir that has been wracked by violence since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani last year.(AP)
File photo of Kashmiri protesters throwing rocks and bricks at an armoured vehicle belonging to paramilitary soldiers during a protest in Srinagar. Dineshwar Sharma was chosen to lead talks for peace in Kashmir that has been wracked by violence since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani last year.(AP)

Sharma, who headed the Intelligence Bureau last year when violent protests followed the killing of Wani, was called in for a meeting with national security advisor Ajit Doval and the home minister a few hours before the formal announcement, top sources revealed.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Sharma did not want to answer questions on whether he would engage with separatists belonging to the Hurriyat Conference but emphasised that he would speak “to all stakeholders”.

“Peace must be restored in Kashmir and for that I will talk to all people in an effort to bring about a solution,’’ he said.

The newly-appointed interlocutor said he will make his first visit to the strife-torn Valley within “eight-10 days” but multiple government sources confirmed that a lot of homework has already been done.

An intelligence officer, who did not want to be named, as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said, “We have been holding informal parleys with the separatists and have urged them to be part of the dialogue process.” It is not clear whether the separatists would be a part of the just announced dialogue process.

The parleys with various stakeholders — including former militants who gave up the gun and those who returned from camps in Pakistan where they had trained — were in progress when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his independence day speech, said: ‘Na goli seh, na gali seh, baat banegi gale lag ke.” Modi, had, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, indicated that the way forward lay in a dialogue and not through violence.

Several governments in the past have tried to find a solution through negotiations. The Atal Behari Vajpayee government held talks with the separatists and current chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has for long been asking Modi to ‘’do a Vajpayee”. Mufti’s PDP and the BJP are coalition partners in Jammu and Kashmir.

The UPA government too had appointed interlocutors after the unrest in the Valley in 2010 but the report, submitted to then home minister P Chidambaram was never acted upon.

“I hope I will be able live up to the trust the government of India has showed and will be able to fulfill the expectations of the people,” Sharma told ANI.

Sharma, who will soon visit the Valley, has a tough task ahead as he starts the search for peace.

Unveiling 'Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on Election 2024, India News, Lok Sabha Election 2024 LIVE along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    author-default-90x90

    Harinder Baweja anchors special projects for Hindustan Times. She has been a journalist for three decades and has focussed on covering conflict zones, including Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On