J&K interlocutor meets civil society and youths

We impressed upon Sharma the need to hold a dialogue with separatist groups if the Centre was serious and sincere about restoring peace in the state. JAGMOHAN SINGH RAINA,

All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee chairman

SRINAGAR: The big names stayed away but the Centre’s special representative on Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, held a series of meetings with civil society and youth groups on Tuesday, day two of his visit to the Valley.

Sharma, the former director of the Intelligence Bureau who is on a five-day visit to the state, is expected to meet political leaders here on Wednesday as part of efforts to talk to various stakeholders and find lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

He is spending three days in the Kashmir valley and two days in Jammu.

During the visit he will hold talks with Governor NN Vohra, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and various other delegations.

All separatist parties, including both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) have ruled out engagement with Sharma, saying his appointment is only a time-buying tactic.

However, away from the media glare, Sharma was busy meeting delegations arranged by Kashmir divisional commissioner Baseer Khan at the heavily-fortified Hari Niwas state guest house near the Dal Lake.

Officials privy to the parleys said Sharma’s engagements have so far been aimed at assessing the feelings of local residents, who have suffered the most in the decades of violence in the Valley.

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) youth leader, a delegation of youths from downtown Srinagar, a Sikh group and traders were among those who have met Sharma.

Waheed Para, Peoples Democratic Party youth leader and Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council secretary, discussed problems faced by the youth and steps needed to be taken by the Centre to wean youth away from the cycle of violence, officials said.

A group of youth from downtown Srinagar met Sharma quietly last night and discussed their problems.

Some suggested that the presence of security personnel should be reduced once the situation attains some sense of normalcy.

While major trade associations like the Kashmir Economic Alliance and the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry have refrained from meeting Sharma, smaller trade bodies from various districts quietly called on him, officials said.

They discussed problems, including taxation-related issues, repayment of bank loans and difficulties in transporting of fruits during their meeting.

Some other issues regarding lack of employment opportunities and basic amenities, nepotism and the non-implementation of many central policies were also raised during the meet.

A Sikh delegation, led by All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee’s Jagmohan Singh Raina, also met Sharma and flagged its concerns.

“We also told him about our demand for minority status. It has been the commitment of the state government but no steps have been taken in this regard either by the state or the Central government,” Raina said.

He said the delegation impressed upon Sharma the need to hold dialogue with separatists groups if the Centre was “serious and sincere” about restoring peace in the state.

Sharma, who also met several senior media personalities, is expected to meet political leaders too on Wednesday.

His meeting with National Conference (NC) leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah has not been confirmed yet.

Some National Conference leaders have said the entire process of talks has been “badly handled”.

They said this because there has been no formal invitation from the special representative.