'Realists' in government prevail over 'hawks': Congress on Kashmir move

The Congress said today that the Centre appointing a representative to initiate dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir indicated that "realists" in the government had prevailed over "hawks".

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that a sustained dialogue will be initiated by the Centre to find a solution to the Kashmir issue and that former director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Dineshwar Sharma would be the government's representative.

"Aptt of interlocutor in J&K is indicative that realists in Govt have prevailed over Hawks. Hard Power is not an end but means towards an end," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said on Twitter.

Sharma, a 1979-batch (retired) officer of the Indian Police Service, served as the IB director between December, 2014 and 2016.

Sharma will decide whom he wants to hold talks with, the home minister said when asked whether he would have dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference.