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Hope I live up to expectations: Dineshwar Sharma on being appointed as interlocutor for J&K
Former Intelligence Bureau (IB) director Dineshwar Sharma, who the Centre appointed as its representative+ for a \"sustained dialogue with all stakeholders\" to find a political solution to the Kashmir issue, has said he hopes that he lives up to the expectations.
NEW DELHI: Former Intelligence Bureau (IB) director Dineshwar Sharma, who the Centre appointed as its representative+ for a "sustained dialogue with all stakeholders" to find a political solution to the Kashmir issue, has said he hopes that he lives up to the expectations.
"It's a big responsibility. I hope I live up to the expectations," Dineshwar Sharma told ANI.
Talking to reporters shortly after his appointment, Sharma said, "The government has given me a very big responsibility, nothing can be better than improvement of situation in J&K".
Sharma also said that he would visit the state in another 8-10 days to assess the situation there and come up with a plan to take the peace process forward. "Priority is restoring peace (in J&K) and finding a permanent solution," he added.
Sharma, a 1979-batch (retired) officer of the Indian Police Service, served as the IB director between December, 2014 and 2016.
Sharma is the fourth interlocutor appointed by the Centre since 2002. The first one was former Union minister K C Pant, the second N N Vohra, the present governor of the state, and the last a three-member panel comprising former bureaucrat M M Ansari, academician Radha Kumar and late journalist Dileep Padgaonkar.
Earlier today, in a fresh move for peace in J&K, the Centre announced a "sustained dialogue" process with all stakeholders in the Valley and appointed the former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma as its special representative.
The home minister made it clear that Sharma, who would hold the rank of a cabinet secretary, would have complete independence in deciding who to hold talks with. He was replying to a question on whether Sharma would hold discussions with the Hurriyat Conference.
"The Centre has shown conviction and consistency on Kashmir issue and carrying forward this policy, we have decided to begin a sustained dialogue policy for Jammu and Kashmir.
"And for this we have decided to appoint Dineshwar Sharma as special representative of the Government of India," Singh told reporters.
The home minister said the special representative would initiate sustained interactions and dialogue to understand the legitimate aspirations of people, especially the youth, and try to fulfil them, he said.
Asked whether a police officer was capable for holding talks on such a sensitive issue, Singh shot back, "What's wrong in that. He is an apolitical person having no political affiliation which is his greatest advantage. Besides he is well aware about the internal security situation of the country."
