Kashmir peace dialogue process rolls out
Dalip Singh, New Delhi, DH News Service, Aug 18 2017, 23:23 IST
Modi government and stakeholders in the state -- take a step forward to check misgivings. PTI File Photo
After PM Narendra Modi's call to “embrace” Kashmiris, the process of dialogue with stakeholders other than separatists and politicians have been rolled out to broker peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
A four-member delegation, which includes BJP leader MJ Khan, will visit Srinagar for four days from Saturday to meet members of civil society, traders, bar associations, ulemas and others.
Khan confirmed to DH that he, media baron-turned-politician Sahid Siddique, defence expert Qamar Agha and Justice IM Quddusi will be travelling to interact with different voices of Kashmir for bringing back peace in the state. Sources said the idea is to convince Kashmiris that the regime at the centre was not against them and the dialogue can be resumed if both -- the Modi government and stakeholders in the state -- take a step forward to check misgivings.
Though Khan denied that their peace trip had links with the government, sources said it was part of track two diplomacies.
The proposed visit coincides with similar on-going initiative undertaken by a team led by former union minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who has been insisting that a multi-dimensional dialogue is the way forward to break the logjam, which had worsened leading to unrest in the Valley post last year's encounter death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Right now Sinha and his team members, such as senior journalist Bharat Bhushan, too are travelling in the state for the third time as he had said in an interview to DH earlier that "dialogue was a precondition for peace and not peace was a precondition for dialogue".
On Friday, they met Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor NN Vohra in Srinagar.
In his Red Fort address on the Independence Day, Modi had tried to reach out to the youth of the Pakistan bordering state by saying that by embracing Kashmiris and not through "abuses" and "bullets" the grievances can be addressed.
Indicating central government was making serious efforts on security issues, union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said Kashmir issue along with terrorism and left-wing terrorism will be solved by 2022.
The government is not keen to interact with Hurriyat leaders as it suspects them to be aiding terror in the J&K.