Govt keen to involve Pandits in peace talks

Mahendra Ved / TNN / Jan 16, 2006, 02:35 IST

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The government now wants to involve Kashmiri Pandits in the peace process.

Govt keen to involve Pandits in peace talks

NEW DELHI: Having broken ground with sections of J&K separatists, the government now wants to involve Kashmiri Pandits, many of whose members have fled the state in the wake of militancy over the last 16 years, in the peace process.
Senior lawyer Ashok Bhan, who has been engaged in back-channel efforts, says government has asked community leaders to form a coordination committee with representatives of both those living in J&K and Delhi.
"We, the original inhabitants of J&K, want to make a positive contribution to the peace process," said a community leader, adding that the committee is likely to be formed soon.
The likely leaders of the committee are Agni Shekhar and Ajay Chrangroo, who lead the two factions of Panun Kashmir, besides Delhi-based members of the Kashmir Samiti.

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Amar Nath Vaishnavi, a senior leader based in a refugee camp in Jammu, is also likely to be included in the committee, government sources said.
A little over 10,000 Pandits still live in the troubled state, mainly in camps at various places in the Jammu region. Estimates about their presence in Delhi and elsewhere in the country vary.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Sajjad Lone and his People's Conference team on Saturday. In the coming weeks, he is likely to meet more separatists in the coming weeks, among them, Shabbir Shah and Yasin Malik.
With Shah, it would be the first 'formal' meeting next month, after having met him last November as part of the back-channel efforts.
With more separatists ready to talk, there is a sense of unease among the Hurriyat leaders, just back after a meeting with Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf.

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