To address Kashmir Crisis, Oppn to talk in one voice
2 Days to go for All Party delegation’s visit to state
The Opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir, including National Conference and Congress, are planning to list demands and talk in one voice before the all-party parliamentary delegation that is scheduled to visit the state on Sunday.
The Opposition parties were planning to meet the delegation and give a list of demands, sources said. The sources said the parties, which had earlier met at former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence last month, were framing a unified list of demands that would be presented before the high-profile delegation.
The all-party delegation is scheduled to visit the state on Sunday as a part of an effort to find a solution to the ongoing unrest in the region. The Kashmir valley is simmering for the past eight weeks as widespread protests were sparked by the killing of a militant commander on July 8.
The Opposition parties had united on August 17 at Omar’s residence. The senior leaders and legislators of National Conference, Congress, CPM, PDF, AIP and DPN had met and appealed to the Union government to initiate dialogue and “recognise” the anger to address it. The parties, which have come together during the ongoing unrest, have a total strength of 30 in the 87-member strong Legislative Assembly.
A joint delegation of all Opposition parties had later visited New Delhi where they met President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and apprised them of the crisis.
Hold talks with all stakeholders, demands NC
Srinagar: Senior leaders and legislators of the National Conference on Thursday held a sit-in outside the civil secretariat here, asking the Central government to hold talks with all stakeholders, including separatists and militants.
NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, who led the protest, said New Delhi should hold “broad-based and meaningful talks with all stakeholders, including the separatist leadership” as well as militants.
“New Delhi should talk to Hurriyat leaders and other separatist leaders. It should also engage in talks with militants as has been done in the past,” Sagar said. “There is no alternative to a credible dialogue and no further time should be wasted as the Valley is on the brink of complete chaos,” he said.
Hope for lasting solution: Tarigami
Jammu: CPM MLA from Kulgam MY Tarigami, while appreciating the forthcoming visit of the delegation, said it should not just remain a cosmetic exercise. “We hope that the all-party delegation will be the first step towards a lasting solution for Kashmir,” said the CPM leader in a press conference here on Thursday.
