Former IB director to initiate Modi govt’s Kashmir dialogue: Who is Dineshwar Sharma?
Home minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre has decided to start a sustained dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Centre said on Monday it had picked former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma to initiate dialogue with representatives of Jammu and Kashmir on its behalf.
Home minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre has decided to start a sustained dialogue in the state.
Sharma, a 1979-batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, was appointed as the IB director by the Narendra Modi-led government in 2014.
Sharma has vast experienced serving in the IB for more than two decades, earning a reputation as an analyst. He had volunteered to serve in Jammu and Kashmir in the 1990s and later headed the joint task force on intelligence constituted after the 1999 Kargil incursion.
Known for keeping a low profile, Sharma headed the counter-surveillance of the IB before becoming its chief for two years beginning January 1, 2014. He served at various desks in the IB since he was posted in the organisation in 1991, including Kashmir and the Northeast besides stints in Lucknow.
Sharma is an expert on issues related to terrorism and internal security.
The former IB head had in June taken charge as the interlocutor for peace talks with Assam’s insurgent groups, including the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). He was appointed for a tenure of one year to hold peace negotiations with pro-talks factions of the ULFA, National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and a few other small groups based in Assam.
With inputs from agencies