A sustained dialogue will be initiated by the government to find a solution to the Kashmir issue, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday.
Addressing a hurriedly-convened press conference, Singh said former director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Dineshwar Sharma would be the central government's representative to initiate dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir.
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, Singh said when asked whether he would have dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference.
The initiative has been taken as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address, the home minister said.