News
Sunday, October 24, 2010
New violence as Indian experts arrive in Kashmir
* Kashmiri leaders term appointments ‘futile, time-gaining tactics’
SRINAGAR: Three experts appointed by India to lead a dialogue process in restive Kashmir arrived in the region on Saturday, as violence was reported along the Line of Control with Pakistan.
Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) had seen some of its biggest demonstrations against Indian rule over the last four months, which have left 111 civilians dead, most of them shot by security forces. Home Minister P Chidambaram said last week that the government had selected senior journalist Dilip Padgaonkar and professors MM Ansari and Radha Kumar to hold talks with separatists and ordinary people in the troubled state.
“Our main focus is to address the political angle of the Kashmir dispute,” Padgaonkar told reporters after the team’s arrival in Srinagar, the summer capital of IHK.
“We’re here to talk to every shade of opinion and we’re here to listen to the people,” he said, adding that the group was on a four-day tour of the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.
“We have already fixed some appointments, some more will be fixed in the course of the visit. We are planning to meet students on Monday,” he said.
Kashmiri separatists rejected the appointment of experts as “futile” and “time-gaining tactics” by New Delhi.
The unrest has left the government grappling for solutions to the outpouring of anger in Kashmir, where a 20-year insurgency had declined in intensity but popular desire for an independent Kashmir remains strong. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk