Center ready for talks with separatists

Close on the heels of Modi-Sharif meet during the climate summit in Paris, the Indian government Tuesday said it will hold talks with all separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir who are willing to eschew the path of violence and work within the framework of the Constitution.

Minister of State for Home, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary, said this in the Lok Sabha in reply to a question whether the government has initiated any talks with separatist organisations in Jammu and Kashmir with a view to restore peace in the state.

“The government remains open to dialogue with those who eschew the path of violence and are willing to work within the framework of the Constitution of India,” he said.

Hitherto the Modi government had taken a stand that it had no proposal to hold dialogue with separatists and has been dealing with them sternly on ground.

Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met briefly yesterday in Paris as the climate conference began in the French capital.

The two leaders warmly held hands before sitting down for a chat amidst frosty ties between the two neighbours.

The Indian side described the encounter as a “brief exchange of courtesies”, but Pakistanis terming it as a “good” meeting.

The meeting was the first between the two leaders after July when they had met in the Russian city of Ufa and had agreed that their National Security Advisors would meet.

The two leaders had attended the UN General Assembly session in September but did not meet even though they had stayed in the same hotel.

Modi and Sharif came under one roof during a peacekeeping summit held on the sidelines of the General Assembly, but only waved at each other and did not speak or shake hands.

In the LokSabha today, the junior home minister also listed measures taken by the Centre in tandem with the state government to put an end to the violence in the state which includes multi-pronged approach to contain cross border infiltration, construction of border fencing and pro-active action against militants within the state.

He said the government has adopted various counter measures to neutralize the efforts and capabilities of militants to disturb peace in the state.

The government has also encouraged policies to mainstream the youth, including providing employment opportunities to wean them away from militancy, he said.