DINESHWAR SHARMA TO VISIT GROUND ZERO OF VALLEY UNREST

NEW DELHI: The Centre’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma will be in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday for his second visit to the state during which he will visit the epicentres of unrest in the Valley as well as migrant camps in Jammu.

Sharma, who visited Srinagar and Jammu earlier this month, will be in the state for four days, spending two days in Jammu before going to Kashmir, officials said.

Sharma was appointed the Centre’s special representative for Kashmir on October 23 to hold talks with all stakeholders in an effort to find lasting peace.

He has already initiated a slew of measures, including withdrawal of cases against first-time stone-pelters and improving the power situation in the Valley, officials said.

Giving details of his Jammu visit, they said he will interact with Kashmiri Pandit families at the camps.

The high point of his visit, officials said, will be his interactions with youths and students in Pulwama and Anantnag.

The districts were the epicentres of unrest following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen’s poster boy Burhan Wani on July 8 last year.

Pulwama also earned the notorious distinction of being the nerve centre of militancy with anti-insurgency operations being launched on a war footing in the area.

After his first visit to the Valley, Sharma had suggested that cases against 4,500 youths involved in stone-pelting for the first time be dropped in a bid to win hearts.

Over 11,500 cases against stone-pelters were registered since July last year following Wani’s death. Of these, over 4,500 were first-time stone pelters.

DINESHWAR SHARMA LIKELY TO VISIT MIGRANT CAMS IN JAMMU AND VISIT SOUTH KASHMIR’S PULWAMA AND ANANTNAG DISTRICTS