Ahead of the all-party delegation’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday extended a formal invitation to separatist leaders in the Kashmir Valley to meet the all-party
Ahead of the all-party delegation’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday extended a formal invitation to separatist leaders in the Kashmir Valley to meet the all-party delegation, while urging the Centre and the Opposition to engage all sections of the society in a credible and meaningful political process for a resolution to the Kashmir crisis.
Ms Mufti sent out letters, in her capacity as People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and not as the state chief minister, to the leaders of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Hurriyat Conference, Hurriyat Conference J&K, JKLF, National Front and Jamaat-e-Islami.
“I write to you in my capacity as the president of the J&K People’s Democratic Party and request you to take the lead and engage with the all-party delegation of parliamentarians visiting the state tomorrow (on Sunday). This will be the start of a credible and meaningful political dialogue and resolution process to end the stalemate,” she wrote, seeking their cooperation by engaging with the all-party delegation to be led by Union home minister Rajnath Singh.
While reiterating the urgency of initiating unconditional dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, Ms Mufti said that the Hurriyat Conference should be taken on board.
“The country’s political leadership must, without any further delay, reach out and engage all sections of the society, including the leaders of the Hurriyat Conference in a productive dialogue process to resolve the issue and make peace a reality in Jammu and Kashmir. Putting the reconciliation and resolution process back on track is the need of the hour as productive and inclusive engagement is the only way forward.”
The Centre had left the decision about whom the all-party delegation should meet entirely on Ms Mufti. Sources claim the Centre had conveyed to Ms Mufti that the home ministry on its part will not send formal invitations to the separatists to join the talks, but if the state government was willing to invite them for talks with the political delegation from New Delhi, it had no objections.
Home ministry sources said the delegation, which includes senior ministers, was willing to talk to the Hurriyat following the invite extended by the CM in a bid to resolve the ongoing crisis, but added that talks will have to be held within the “four walls of constitutional provisions”.
A day before the visit of the delegation, the Opposition had pitched for holding dialogue with all the stakeholders with the CPI(M), specifically demanding that talks be held with Hurriyat leaders as well.
“The government should invite Hurriyat for talks with the all-party delegation... The invitation extended to others should be given to Hurriyat also. It is up to them whether they want to meet the delegation,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had said after the meeting held by the government to brief the MPs who are part of the delegation. He also suggested that confidence-building measures should be announced during the visit of the delegation.
The issue was discussed at length during an interactive session where home minister Rajnath Singh briefed the 30-member all-party delegation regarding the prevailing security scenario in the region and the broad contours of the tour.
The all-part delegation, due to start its two-day visit to the state on Sunday, includes, apart from home minister Rajnath Singh and Central ministers like finance minister Arun Jaitley, Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitendera Singh, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mr Azad, his Lok Sabha colleague Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leader Ambika Soni, JD-U leader Sharad Yadav, CPI(M)’s Mr Yechury and CPI leader D. Raja.
