‘Kashmir roadmap to be ready in next six to nine months’

SRINAGAR - The roadmap for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute would be ready in six to nine months, two Kashmir interlocutors said here Sunday.

Two of the three interlocutors - academician Radha Kumar and information commissioner M.M. Ansari - spent another week in the state meeting various shades of opinion in the Kashmir Valley and in Ladakh.

The third member of the panel and prominent journalist, Dileep Padgaonkar, could not visit Jammu and Kashmir this time because of his pre-occupation in Spain.

Talking to newsmen, Radha Kumar said that it was too early to actually talk about the road map for a Kashmir solution. “It should be ready in next six to nine months,” she said.

She reiterated that it was “necessary to include Pakistan in the dialogue process for finding a permanent solution to the problem”.

“Dialogue with Pakistan between 2003 to 2006 helped improve the ground situation in the Kashmir Valley,” she noted.

Radha Kumar also favoured release of political prisoners, a step she said “would help improve the ground situation”.

During their week-long stay here, the two interlocutors visited various towns in the Kashmir Valley and the two frontier districts of Leh and Kargil.

The three interlocutors were appointed by the home minister in October for a “serious dialogue to find a political solution” to the problems in the state following stone-pelting protests since June 11 that saw some 110 civilians killed, mostly in firing by the security forces.

They have a year-long mandate to talk to all shades of political opinion in Kashmir and suggest ways to solve the problem.

The team Nov 2 presented their first report to the government, days after returning from a visit to the troubled state.