Govt. should engage in dialogue with Kashmiris: Ex RAW chief

Pointing out the depressing state of affairs in Kashmir, ex-RAW chief A.S. Dulat on Thursday said dialogue, engagement and talking with the people of the valley is the only solution to the ongoing crisis.

Dulat asked the ruling dispensation to follow the footsteps of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to tackle the unrest in Kashmir.

"The situation in Kashmir is serious, sad and depressing.sometimes it looks out of control. South Kashmir certainly looks its liberated. The situation is such that even the army is not comfortable to go into South Kashmir. The whole village has come up in support of militancy," he told ANI.

Cautioning the government over Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that any talks on Kashmir will be about the territories under the occupation of Pakistan, Dulat said, "We should talk to Pakistan also.whether you talk on PoK or our Kashmir or on terrorism, we must talk."

Pitching for dialogue between the two Asian neighbours, Dulat said the situation can be retrieved if we start talking again.

"The situation will always get alright. We have seen this before also in Kashmir. It's not that it will not get alright. I think talking is necessary," he added.

Asserting that there hasn't been any outreach to politicians, mainly the separatists, Dulat said even the National Conference has not been involved in any kind of conversation or dialogue.

"So, the question is that the separatists have lost a lot of credibility, but they are still there and they represent a certain thought in Kashmir. Therefore, their involvement is always necessary," he added.

Meanwhile, curfew continued in the Valley for 34th day today.

Sharing the pain of the suffering Kashmiris, the Parliament yesterday unanimously appealed to people of the valley to restore peace and harmony even as the government expressed readiness to hold talks with moderate groups and others and decided to call an all-party meet on Friday.

The Home Minister declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread 'deliberately'.

"No power on earth can snatch Kashmir from us," Singh declared, while referring to the letter of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the UN seeking 'plebiscite' in Kashmir.