As the situation in Kashmir shows no signs of normalcy with recent spate of killings across Kashmir, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday. Mehbooba who has advocated for dialogue with Pakistan to settle the long pending Kashmir imbroglio, sources said that Mehbooba will appraise the prime minister about the recent situation in Kashmir and the need for dialogue internally and externally. Sources said that Mehbooba will try to convince the Modi about a possible dialogue with Kashmiri separatists so that the situation would get normal.
They said the chief minister will ask the prime minister to hold a dialogue with Pakistan. On last Sunday 20 persons were killed—13 militants, four civilians and three army men—in three separate encounters in south Kashmir. The valley remained on edge for a week after the civilian and militant killings. Also, on April 2 a civilian was killed in police action in central Kashmir’s Kangan with local saying without any provocation.
The ceasefire violations and subsequent killings along Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir will also come up during the meeting. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of which Mehbooba is president seeks a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan to resolve the outstanding Kashmir issue. However, the junior partner in her government Bhartiya Janta Party is against any dialogue with Pakistan or the Kashmir separatists. Though, the Government of India last year appointed a ‘special representative’ for Kashmir talks with Dineshwar Sharma to hold talks in this regard. Sharma, who is a former intelligence chief, has thus far held many round of talks with scores of delegations in Kashmir.
But, so far, a breakthrough of any talks with separatists is in no sight. Even, the mainstream political parties have called it a ‘futile exercise. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba also assured a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits that she would place before Prime Minister Narendra Modi their long-pending demand to reopen the Sharda temple in Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PaK) tomorrow. Mehbooba met the delegation, headed by All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC) chairman Vinod Pandit, at her residence, the organisation representing Kashmiri pandits said in a statement here. They raised with the chief minister their long-pending demands for reopening the Sharda temple in PaK and creating a welfare board for Kashmiri Pandits.
The chief minister responded positively and assured to take up the matters with the prime minister tomorrow, the statement read. Sharda Peeth, an abandoned Hindu temple located in Sharda village, is situated along the Neelam River in PaK near the Line of Control. It was a major centre of learning at par with the ancient seats of learning Nalanda and Taxila.