As the logjam between the separatists and the government in Kashmir continued for the 108th day, a six-member team, including former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, MP Jairam Ramesh and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, is arriving in Srinagar to break the ice on Tuesday.
Sources said the team is scheduled to meet separatist leaders such as Syed Ali Geelani, detained Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, besides Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and leaders of mainstream parties.
Kashmir has been roiled by violent street protests, which has left 92 civilians dead and thousands injured, in the wake of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Separatists’ shutdown call continues to affect daily life in the Valley.
JKLF chief Yasn Malik, who remains in a Srinagar hospital after taking ill in the jail, has hinted that he will not be meeting the group. “India and its stooges have waged a war against the Kashmiris. No sane person in India dares to open his or her lips against it. Our meetings with any proposed Indian delegation is futile in these circumstances,” he said in a statement issued from the hospital.
It remains to be seen if Mr. Geelani, who had shut the doors on an all-party delegation in September, will meet this delegation.
