BJP, Kashmir interlocutors trade hot words

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday strongly criticised the interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir for “rationalising Pakistan’s stand” on Kashmir, while the central government’s representatives said they knew what they were talking about.

Triggering a hot exchange of words, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, in a statement issued in New Delhi, said the interlocutors’ comments on involving Pakistan for a permanent solution on Kashmir were “as if they are rationalising Pakistan’s stand on its ‘unfinished agenda’ on Kashmir”.

She demanded that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) should immediately clarify if this was part of the brief given to the interlocutors.

“It seems as if the panel (of three interlocutors) is arguing for the (pro-freedom) Hurriyat angle,” Sitharaman said.

Sitharaman’s strongly worded criticism referred to a statement of journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, one of the three interlocutors, in Srinagar Saturday that Pakistan has to be involved for a permanent solution of the Kashmir issue.

Padgaonkar, who alongwith other two other interlocutors - academic Radha Kumar and former Central Information Commissioner M.M. Ansari - is visiting Kashmir, told a TV channel: “We are responsible people. We know what we are doing. We stand by what we spoke.”

“We have been meeting all sections, including militants and youths, here since yesterday (Saturday). We plan to do the same for a few more days and then move to Jammu to get the Jammu view,” he said.

On Saturday, Padgaonkar said: “We are here to look for a permanent solution to the Kashmir issuebut a permanent solution is not possible without the involvement of Pakistan.”

In Delhi, alleging that the interlocutors had overstepped their brief, Sitharaman said the BJP wondered “if this is a part of the brief which has been given to the panel of interlocutors”.

The interlocutors were expected to engage with various citizens’ groups to understand the ground realities, she said.

“But the comment made, even as they are about to start their assignment, is unnecessarily internationalising the process,” Sitharaman said.

“What is the Pakistan dimension that the interlocutor is referring to?” the BJP leader questioned.

“Is this a part of the brief given or has he stepped beyond their (the panel’s) brief?” Sitharaman asked.

The central government Oct 13 appointed a three-member team of interlocutors to interact with political and social groups and individuals and to suggest ways to defuse the crisis in Jammu and Kashmir.

At least 110 civilians, mostly youths and students, have died in Kashmir since June 11 as security forces retaliated to stone-pelting protesters, triggering a cycle of violence which disrupted normal life in the valley.