Centre’s special representative on Kashmir ‘open to hold talks with all stakeholders’

Dineshwar Sharma begins his five-day visit on on November 6.

Continuing killings: Relatives and neighbours mourn as the body of Abdul Salam Khan, a policeman, is brought to Kareva Shadab village in Shopian on Sunday.

The Centre’s Special Representative Dineshwar Sharma will begin his five-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir from Monday to carry forward the dialogue process.

The former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director will spend the first three days in Srinagar and the rest in Jammu.

Mr. Sharma is expected to hold talks with various delegations, and invites have already been sent to several political parties.

The Hurriyat Conference has not showed much interest in holding a dialogue with him. Mr. Sharma said he was open to hold talks with all the stakeholders.

Meets Mehbooba

Mr. Sharma met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in New Delhi on Saturday.

The Chief Minister is learnt to have apprised him of the expectations of the people. In Srinagar, he is expected to meet various political leaders, student groups and youth.

The Joint Resistance Forum, a conglomerate of three separatist organisations — the hardline and moderate factions of the Hurriyat Conference and the JKLF — had announced earlier this week that they would not meet Mr. Sharma and dubbed his appointment a “time-buying tactic” of the Centre. JKLF chief Yasin Malik accused the Centre of “holding talks at gunpoint”.