Centre’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma on Tuesday met several delegations in Baramulla and expressed his willingness “to meet all who believe in non-violence”.
Spending his second consecutive day in north Kashmir, Mr. Sharma met around 24 delegations of civil society groups, including traders and youth bodies.
However, two known civil society groups, Beopar Mandal Baramulla and Bar Association Baramulla, boycotted him.
“We don’t have the mandate to talk about the Kashmir issue,” said the traders body head, Mohammad Ashraf Ganai. A leader of the Bar Association described the interlocutor’s exercise as “futile”.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sharma said his doors were “open for those who want peace in Kashmir”. “I interacted with a lot of people here who truly want peace and prosperity,” he said.
He also called for action in the recent killing of a Kupwara taxi driver in an ambush of security forces. “The probe should be made public,” he said. Asif Iqbal, the driver, was killed in an ambush at Thandipora, Kupwara.
The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Tuesday cancelled the summon issued to Syed Naseem Geelani, son of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani.
“The NIA cancelled my appearing at its New Delhi headquarters which was scheduled today,” wrote Mr. Naseem on the social media. He said no reason was given for the cancellation of the summon.
