Kashmir Valley interlocutor meets Omar Abdullah, others

Srinagar: After spending two days at a government guesthouse, the Centre’s ‘special representative’ Dineshwar Sharma on Wednesday had had a series of meetings with several key faces of Jammu and Kashmir’s mainstream politics.

Mr Sharma, a 1979-batch IPS officer and former Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB) who is on his maiden visit of twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu after being appointed as the Centre’s new interlocutor said he is also trying to meet separatist Hurriyat Conference alliance leaders.

“I’m also trying to meet Hurriyat leaders,” he said after meeting the state CPIM secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and leaders of two regional parties. He asserted, “I met many people. It was very good. I wish that peace return to Kashmir. I will also try to meet Hurriyat.”

An alliance of key separatist leaders has termed his appoint as “nothing more than a tactic to buy time” and refused to meet him. Several likeminded political groups and social, trade and civil society groups including the Kashmir high court bar association have endorsed the view.

After spending three days in the summer capital, he will go to Jammu on Thursday to meet the leaders of different political and social groups. His first real engagement was with former chief minister and leader of opposition National Conference (NC), Omar Abdullah, when it comes to discharging the difficult task of holding “sustained dialogue” with those who are considered ‘movers and shakers’ of J&K’s politics and public life assigned to him.

The NC leadership was reluctant to meet Mr Sharma and, its president Farooq Abdullah said that he was not optimistic about the outcome of the same. But Mr Sharma chose to drive to the party working president and former chief minister, Omar Abdullah’s, residence at Srinagar’s posh Gupkar Road.

After their meeting, Mr Abdullah tweeted, “Mr. Dineshawar Sharma & I met at my residence in Srinagar this morning. We discussed the prevailing situation in the state and also steps that can be taken to make his visits to the state more meaningful.”

Later, he said, “He asked for my opinion on how to effectively go about the work assigned to him. I hope he will act on my suggestions,” the NC leader said. He, however, also took dig at Mr Sharma’s saying, “Sitting in a guesthouse and waiting for people to come and meet him won’t yield results’.

Later during the day, Mr Sharma met CPIM leader Tarigami along with Ghulam Hassan Mir and Hakim Muhammad Yasin who head two regional political parties. Following this, the trio addressed a press conference to say that they reiterated their stance that Kashmir is “a long pending complex issue” which has generated untold sufferings.