Amidst sharp criticism from Congress, Centre's interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma visits JK to carry forward interlocution process
Srinagar, March 28: Amidst sharp criticism from the Congress and protests, the central government’s interlocutor to Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma on Tuesday began a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Notably, this is a sixth visit of Dineshwar Sharma in Jammu and Kashmir to carry forward the interlocution process.
Dineshwar Sharma visited north Kashmir’s Bandipora district to meet various delegations, comprising mostly political workers and youth delegations. According to the official sources, Sharma met 17 delegations, which comprised mostly mainstream political activists.
Like other trade bodies, the Traders Federation of Bandipora refused to meet Sharma, saying they had no mandate to talk on political issues and advised him to talk to the separatist leadership. However, he will further visit Jammu to meet various groups and individuals for the next two days.
Ahead of Sharma’s visit, the meeting venue was rocked by protests in which two employees of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) were injured. While Congress legislator Usman Majid said Sharma’s visit to Kashmir was a futile and meaningless exercise.
This is a sixth visit of Dineshwar Sharma in Jammu and Kashmir to carry forward the interlocution process after he was appointed as an interlocutor on 23rd October last year. Dinehswar Sharma’s frequent visits to Kashmir, top separatist leaders, civil society members and traders in Kashmir refused to meet the interlocutor during his all three visits to the valley.
Importantly, Dineshwar Sharma is the person behind granting of amnesty to stone pelters. After his recommendation, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti announced to relieve 4237 first time stone pelters in Kashmir.
BACKGROUND:
Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the month of October last year said that the central government has decided to start a sustained dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir, with former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma appointed as the Centre’s representative.
Dineshwar Sharma, a Bihar-born, Kerala-cadre Indian Police Service officer of the 1979 batch was the chief of the Intelligence Bureau. Sharma has a wide range of experience in handling separatism and insurgencies to domestic and regional politics. He has also served in a wide variety of command and staff positions in various Police, Paramilitary and Intelligence agencies.