Centre Names Former IB Director As Representative For Kashmir Talks

The Centre today appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as its special representative for a “sustained dialogue” with all stakeholders in Jammu & Kashmir, in a fresh move aimed at bringing peace to the troubled state.

Sharma, with the rank of Cabinet Secretary, will have complete independence in deciding who to hold talks with, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said while making the crucial announcement at a hurriedly-called press conference in New Delhi.

Sharma, a 1979-batch IPS officer who served in the state in 1990s and retired last year, will initiate sustained interactions and dialogue to understand the legitimate aspirations of people, especially the youth, and try to fulfil them, Singh said. He will hold talks with all sections of people and organisations, the minister added while clarifying that there is no time-frame as the issue is sensitive.

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the announcement while the Opposition parties like National Conference and Congress took a dig at the government, saying it had realised that “force” and “muscular” approach alone would not solve the problem.

Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a series of meetings with political representatives on the Kashmir issue and “all of them were clear that the process of dialogue should begin in the Valley”.

The home minister referred to the Prime Minister’s last Independence Day address in which he had said that problems of Jammu & Kashmir cannot be solved by bullets or abuses but by embracing the people of the state. That statement clearly underlined the government's policy and intention, Singh said while adding that the government was sensitive to issues related to the region.

Sharma is the fourth interlocutor appointed by the Centre since 2002. The first one was former Union minister KC Pant, the second NN Vohra, the present governor of the state, and the last was a three-member panel comprising former bureaucrat MM Ansari, academician Radha Kumar and late journalist Dileep Padgaonkar.

Asked about the failure of similar initiatives undertaken earlier, the home minister said, “Please take it from me that whatever we do, we will do with good intentions and clear policy.”

To another question regarding previous reports of interlocutors gathering dust in the home ministry, Singh said, “You cannot pre-judge that this initiative will not be successful. Our announcement shows how serious we are about initiating dialogue.”

Asked whether a police officer was capable for holding talks on such a sensitive issue, Singh shot back, “What's wrong in that? He is an apolitical person having no political affiliation, which is his greatest advantage. Besides, he is well aware about the internal security situation of the country.”

Mehbooba welcomed the announcement, saying dialogue is the need of the hour and the only way forward.

National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah said the “acceptance” of the political nature of the Kashmir issue was a “resounding defeat of those who could only see use of force” as a solution.