Centre must specify contours before peace talks: Tarigami

The Centre must specify its contours before inviting the Hurriyat leaders for peace talks, CPIM senior leader and MLA M Y Tarigami said today.

Tarigami made the remarks after Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the government was ready to hold dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference leadership if the separatists come forward for talks.

"Talks offer is welcome, but the Centre must specify its contours. Dialogue should go beyond "beaten track" of the past and should not focus on issue through security prism only," Tarigami said.

He said the chain of broken promises, repeated interruptions and palpable lack of honesty in the past was the reason for the failure of earlier such initiatives by the government.

"The Centre is creating a window of opportunity by announcing that it is ready to hold dialogue with all shades of opinions, but it should not once again be vague and hazy," he said.

The CPIM leader said that the Centre must review actions by security forces that stifle ordinary life, such as cordon and search operations, restrictions on movement of people in villages, and suspension of internet services.

The government should release all the political prisoners without any further delay and shift those to Valley jails who are detained outside the state and have cases pending against them to create conducive atmosphere for talks, Tarigami said.

"Since almost everybody agrees that meaningful dialogue is the only way to come out of the labyrinth of uncertainty and violence, it has to be authentic and the offer must come from the core of heart. It should not be mere a politic management," he added.