Sikh Federation Kashmir for talks with Hurriyat to end Kashmir unrest

A day before the all-party delegation is set to visit Jammu and Kashmir, Sikh Federation Kashmir president Jagdev Singh Raina on Saturday said that they should hold talks with all stakeholders to ensure peace in the valley.

"We urge them to involve all people and hold talks with them if they want to stabilize the situation. The stakeholders of Kashmir should be included in this meeting. We want to keep the entire Kashmir together. Talks should be held not only about Kashmir but the entire region as it is one entity," Raina told ANI.

A local resident of Kashmir on his part said that the visit of the all-party delegation would be futile if they do not hold parleys with the Hurriyat leaders.

"We have to see what will be the outcome of this meeting. The all-party delegation coming to Kashmir is meaningless and useless until they meet Hurriyat representatives. The citizens of Kashmir listen to the Hurriyat representatives and consider them as their leaders. The people stage protests on their instructions. So, it is important for the government to have talks with them," he said.

The all-party delegation led by Union Home Minister will visit Kashmir tomorrow.

The delegation will include 30 Members of Parliament, including Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Dr Jitendra Singh and Ram Vilas Paswan, leaders of the opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge and others.

During the two-day visit, the MPs will interact with Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, and will also be holding meetings with representatives of all political parties and other delegations in Srinagar to bring peace in the restive valley.

Curfew has been imposed in the valley ever since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.