Start talks with separatists, others in J-K: Panel to govt

Government should hold talks with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir including separatists at the earliest besides taking other measures including ban on use of pellet guns and rehabilitation package for those injured in the unrest, a report by a group of private citizens led by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha recommends.
The delegation, which comprised intellectuals, released the report today to the media and spoke about the nature of meetings it held with separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other mainstream politicians.
The report was released by Programme Director of Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation Sushobha Barve, who was part of the delegation. It said Geelani and Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq "talked of being prepared for an unconditional dialogue" and it was not within the competence of the group of citizens to suggest "when or if such a dialogue process should be started".

"However, what we would like to emphasise is that we noted an overwhelming sentiment amongst the Kashmiris we interacted with for setting up a permanent process of dialogue with New Delhi.
"One of the reasons why so many doors were opened for us by the separatists and ordinary Kashmiris alike was because they saw our visit as a beginning of engagement with ordinary Indians," the report said, adding the agenda of alliance of the BJP-PDP coalition government also commits to a dialogue with all the stakeholders.
"We recommend that such a dialogue is initiated at the earliest," it said.

The group also recommended starting of the process of reopening schools, release forthwith all first time offender school children and minors arrested under Public Safety Act.

It was also recommended that that repeat offenders among minors be shifted out of adult jails and put up in temporarily designated juvenile detention centres and given psychological counselling.
"Rehabilitation packages must be announced to ensure the
life-time income needs of those permanently blinded by pellet guns," the report said and also recommended that compensation and free treatment (both in India and abroad, if necessary) at state government expense for those who have been partially blinded by pellet guns.
The committee which also comprised former Chairman Minorities Commission Wajahat Habibullah and Air Vice Marshall (retd) Kapil Kak called for setting up a blind school in Srinagar for children blinded by pellet guns.

"The state does not have a blind school and this may be a means of rehabilitation by the state to provide education for children with blindness or partially blindness," it said.
The committee, which was hosted by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and state Governor N N Vohra, also favoured ordering of a judicial commission into excesses by the police, especially the wanton use of pellet guns.
"While it is widely accepted that such commissions rarely lead to any conclusions, they serve a therapeutic purpose of allowing people to emotionally express themselves and it also helps project the state government as an accountable institution," it said.

The Committee asked the Centre to impose a ban on use of pellet guns "with immediate effect" as a crowd control weapon saying this will have a "salutary impact on the Kashmiris".
It also asked the Centre to take steps for dispelling the perception that Kashmir and Kashmiris are mere tools to be used for electoral purposes.
The group said the Kashmiri separatist leaders think that unless India and Pakistan talk there can be no permanent solution to the Kashmir issue.
"While most of them (separatists) recommend tripartite talks on Kashmir between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership (without specifying which leadership), others are willing for some other form of dialogue between the three as in Vajpayee's time.

"They called it 'triangular dialogue' - presumably one in which India and Pakistan talk to each other and each of them then talks to the Kashmiris also," it said, adding there was widespread belief that without engaging Pakistan there can be no resolution of the Kashmir issue.