Govt picks ex-spy chief to lead Kashmir talks
A former head of the country’s domestic spy agency will lead talks to end the nearly three-decade-long, bloody insurgency in Kashmir, the government announced on Monday.
Home minister Rajnath Singh said Dineshwar Sharma, 63, who retired as India’s Intelligence Bureau director in December, will speak to “all stakeholders”, as well as decide on whether to include the hardline separatist group, the Hurriyat Conference, in the process.
“For a substantive dialogue, I will need to talk to everybody,’’ Sharma told Hindustan Times. “Peace must be restored in Kashmir and for that I will talk to all people in an effort to bring about a solution.”
The talks offer stems from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s last Independence Day outreach to troubled Kashmir. Modi had said the region’s problems could be solved by embracing its people rather than resorting to abuse or bullets.
Modi’s comments were seen as a possible shift in his policy towards Kashmir, where the government has been pursuing a tough line against a surge in vio-
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lence that has killed about 100 people over the past year.
Kashmir has remained largely paralysed since July last year when government forces shot dead militant leader Burhan Wani, touching off months of deadly protests.
Sharma said he will visit Kashmir in about a week. Sharma, a 1979 batch IPS officer, will submit a report to the government but no deadline was given.
Multiple government sources said Monday’s announcement was preceded by “a lot of homework”, including informal talks with separatists.
Most political parties cautiously welcomed the move.
“Dialogue is a necessity of the hour and the only way to go forward,” Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.