One of the three members of the team of interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir, appointed by the government, has said that there is a “positive change” in the atmosphere in the state. The member, Mr M.M. Ansari, has further said that “many encouraging things are happening, lot of changes have taken place and lots of good things have taken place”. He said this shortly after the interlocutors met Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday.
The team is headed by senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar and has academician Radham Kumar as the third member. Constituted in October 2010, the team has made several visits to J&K.
The appointment of the group is part of the eight-point initiative taken by the Centre to engage with the various groups in Jammu and Kashmir and reach out to a wide spectrum of people. The interlocutors’ appointment came in the wake of the weeks of turmoil that the Valley witnessed, beginning early June with the security forces pitted against “stone pelters” and the deaths of over 100 people, a majority of them young people, during the unabated cycle of violence.
The team is expected to make yet another visit to the state beginning January 17.
Among the suggestions made by the interlocutors in its reports have been: expediting the trial of undertrials, relasing protesters against whom there are no serious charges, allowing peaceful protests, special training for security forces posted in the state, employment opportunities for the youth and concerted efforts to those who have gone missing in the turmoil-ridden Valley.