Jammu protests against GoI over appointment of interlocutor for Kashmir

• Don’t talk to separatists, deal strictly with them: Shiv Sena
• Appoint senior political figure to hold meaningful dialogue: NC

Scores of members of Shiv Sena ( Balasaheb Thackeray) on Wednesday staged a protest against the government of India for appointing a the interlocutor to hold talks with various stake holders to resolve the Kashmir issue.

According to reports, the protesters led by state president of the party, Dimpy Kohli, shouted slogans against Narendra Modi-led government for initiating talks with separatists and others.

Later, according to a statement, Kohli while addressing the protesters said the present central government was following the footprints of the UPA.
“In the past, GoI totally refused to talk to Kashmiri separatists and now they have appointed an interlocutor which shows that NDA is following footprints of UPA,” he said.

He said that from the very beginning, the GOI has been talking to separatists but “nothing fruitful has come out and this time also, Modi government is applying the same methodology”. “We strongly oppose any talks with Kashmiri separatists and appeal the GoI to deal strictly with them (separatists) and hold no talk with them.”
“Any talk with separatist will be harmful for the country,” he added.

Meanwhile, National conference has expressed dissatisfaction over the appointment of a former bureaucrat instead of senior political figure
MLA Mendhar and senior National Conference (NC) leader, Javed Rana, in a statement, said that Government of India should resolve Kashmir issue once for all and appoint a senior political figure to initiate a meaningful dialogue process for a permanent solution.
“Even as appointment of interlocutor is appreciable step, but we have less hope with the former Intelligence Bureau chief as in past too, the interlocutors have failed to yield any results. There was no outcome of their reports which they submitted to than Government of India previously,” said Rana.
He said that the situation in Kashmir will not improve permanently until some concrete solution is found. “There is a need to engage some prominent political figure to hold talks in Kashmir as well as at the international level.”
“The dispute cannot be resolved and people cannot be satisfied until and unless their aspirations aren’t met. Time has come for the Government of India to look at the situation in Kashmir seriously. Dealing Kashmir with arrogance and force has already fueled the situation and many innocent lives have also been lost,” he said.
He claimed that many see the appointment of interlocutor as an attempt to “divert attention of the people from the actual issue”. “Kashmir is a political issue and needs a political solution and it should be resolved accordingly instead of trying to evade concrete steps to solve the core issue.”
He said that using force has given rise to militancy and many educated youth have joined the militant ranks in Kashmir. “In democratic setup, you can’t use force on the people. It is time to hold dialogue with everyone. Dialogue should also be held with the Hurriyat Conference as well,” he said.
He said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should unanimously demand back the autonomous status of the state “which has been eroded from time-to-time by the Government of India”.