The Centre has decided to extend an invitation to all shades of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Hurriyat Conference, to hold talks aimed at resolving the Kashmir issue and restoring peace in the Valley. J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had rec-ently asked the Central leadership to initiate a political dialogue with all shades of opinion in the state following violent protests by separatist groups in Kashmir.
Separate invitations are expected to be issued to each small and major group, including both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, to hold meetings with Central leaders, including Union home minister P. Chidambaram, asking them to express their views on issues concerning Kashmir. The move follows Mr Chidambaram’s efforts on “quiet diplomacy” with Hurriyat Conference leaders led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, which began last year. However, the talks came to an abrupt halt after a moderate leader, Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi, was shot by terrorists.
Mr Abdullah, who met PM Manmohan Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram recently, has been assured full support by the Centre in his efforts to restore peace and normalcy in J&K. While the Omar Abdullah government has already initiated the process by inviting all shades of opinion to hold dialogue, the government is keen to back the move to carry forward the peace process, sources said.
The Centre has also supported the move of the CM for elections to local bodies later this year to enable the benefits of governance to trickle down to the grassroots. Mr Abdullah had favoured the holding of panchayat and municipal polls in October-November this year during his meetings with the Central leadership and at an all-party meeting last week in Kashmir. “This way we will have a vested interest among the people at large to have normalcy,” Mr Abdullah had said. The CM had said recently in Srinagar that the Centre should talk to everybody willing to talk and also reach out to those unwilling to talk. He cited the example of the Centre’s dialogue with the Hizbul Mujahideen 10 years ago, saying the Centre should try “some Track-II diplomacy, like the efforts made in 2000 that had led to a ceasefire and dialogue.”