The government of India’s special representative for a dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma will visit Kupwara and Baramulla districts during his third visit to the state beginning Monday, a source said.
Sharma would go to Kupwara on Monday to interact with the people there after arriving in Srinagar early in the morning from New Delhi, the source said.
“He is expected to meet 30 to 35 delegations of people including students, ‘conflict victims’, civil society members and traders. He may stay there for a night,” the source disclosed.
Sharma is visiting Kupwara at a time when two civilians have been killed in action by government forces in the district during the past two weeks. The killings have triggered pro-freedom and anti-government demonstrations across Kupwara which was also on the boil during the 2016 uprising.
On Tuesday, Sharma will visit Baramulla district which was relatively peaceful during 2016 uprising as compared to 2010 uprising when more than 40 civilians were killed by government forces in the district.
He is expected to meet different delegations there,” the source disclosed.
The twin towns of Baramulla and Sopore are considered strongholds of resistance leadership and have witnessed very a low voter turnout in elections held in the state after 1987.
When contacted, Sharma told Greater Kashmir that he intends to visit northern Kashmir areas to interact with the people there.
“I am also planning to go to Jammu to discuss certain issues with the government,” he said.
Political observers say it would be also interesting to watch whether Sharma would meet the Hurriyat leaders during his fresh visit to the state. Though there were reports that he had met the Hurriyat Conference (M) executive member Prof Abdul GaniBhat during his second visit, the separatist leader denied having met him.
During his second visit to Kashmir, Sharma visited Pulwama and Anantnag districts which were the epicenters of 2016 uprising in which more than 90 civilians were killed and thousands wounded in forces’ action in different parts of the state. At both Pulwama and Anantnag, Sharma met delegations of students, youth, some elderly persons and individuals. He had described his interactions with the people in Pulwama and Anantnag as “good, nice and frank”.
During his first visit to the state in November, Sharma met the National Conference working president Omar Abdullah, Congress state president Ghulam Ahmad Mir and other mainstream political leaders. He also met around 50 delegations comprising mostly apolitical and lesser-known groups and non-governmental organisations that time.