Srinagar
The civil society of Kashmir on Friday said that the engagement of the nominated representative of Government of India to hold dialogue in Kashmir can only be meaningful if and when unconditional talks are held with Joint Resistance Leadership.
In a “Joint Civil Society” statement, the members said: “We the members of Kashmir civil society have witnessed with distress hindrances to the process of resolution of Kashmir dispute sought to be facilitated by nominating Mr. Dineshwar Sharma as a representative of Government of India. Unfortunately the terms of reference for the proposed dialogue have not been specified. Needless to state that it is of paramount importance to address the issue seriously without using subterfuges of ‘restoration of peace’ and ‘de-radicalization of youth’, which are in fact, concomitant to the resolution of the dispute.”
They said that the issue needs to be dealt with frontally in its historical perspective. The dialogue must take place among the three principal parties viz India, Pakistan and the Joint Resistance Leadership of Kashmir. That alone can yield desired results.
“The Kashmir civil society is relieved to know that all the three parties have publicly stated that the final settlement of the dispute could be arrived at through meaningful, resulted-oriented and time-bound negotiations. In this backdrop, the concerns expressed by Joint Resistance Leadership must be addressed immediately by the Indian government to set in motion the process of resolution,” the statement reads.
