Shopian, Dec 11 (KNS): Former union minister Yashwant Sinha led delegation Sunday visited restive south Kashmir-which has been the hotbed of current uprising, and held talks with civil society members and other stake holders in the areas.
After meeting the separatist leaders in Srinagar, the delegation, which is on their second visit to Valley since late October drove to south Kashmir areas and met a wide section of people.
While interacting with the people for over three hours, Sinha said people of Kashmir have a great respect for former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a solution to the core issue lies in the lines drawn by Vajpayee which should be put forth.
According to KNS correspondent Tasaduq Rashid, Sinha said they don’t have a government mandate, but maintained that “Baat goli se nahi boli se banegi.”
“As a concerned citizen of India, I come here and wish to talk to people and recommend what should be done. I could see in Kashmir that people respect a lot Atal Bihari Vajpayee and I believe that his doctrine needs to be taken up,” he told KNS.
Sinha reiterated that his visit shouldn’t be misunderstood as it was not part of any political agenda, but they have come here to empathise with the people of Kashmir.
The civil society and other players who met Sinha asked him to play his influential role in taking Kashmir out of the prevailing crisis and help in getting the issue solved which is pending since decades.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
The civil society members and other stakeholders also presented a two-page representation to the delegation detailing about the situation that Kashmir has faced all these years. The representation highlighted the miseries Kashmiris have faced, and also talked about the sacrificed Kashmiris have given for decades. “These sacrifices have now touched the highest ever.”
The civil society members, traders, intellectuals and other sections of the society who met Sinha led delegation, made it very clear to them that by denying the very existence of the Kashmir issue will not help moving forward.
Meanwhile, former chief information commissioner of India Wajahat Habibullah, who is part of the Sinha-led delegation, said they are not here to solve Kashmir issue, but to win the hearts of Kashmiris.
“We are here to mediate and act like a bridge between New-Delhi and Srinagar to evolve a mechanism and bring all the stakeholders on the talking table,” he told KNS over phone.
Asked why Yasin Malik didn’t meet them, “He said Malik is my good friend. But why he refused to meet us as a delegation, is something only Yasin will be able to answer,” he told our correspondent. (KNS)