Islamabad (Anantnag), Nov 12: The interlocutors appointed by centre on Friday asserted that New Delhi wants to resolve Kashmir issue once for all and this time it is very serious about it.
 “Before we took this assignment, leaders in New Delhi told us that they were serious to resolve the Kashmir issue. I hope our recommendations will pave a way to settle this long pending dispute once for all,” one of the interlocutors, Radha Kumar, told reporters here.
 She said they (interlocutors) wished they could visit the other side of the divided Kashmir to ascertain what they want. “We have been trying to seek opinion from people belonging to diverse regions, cultures and cross section of society to make the process inclusive. I wish we could visit to the other side of the divided Kashmir including; Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK) and Northern Areas, to seek their opinion and consider their aspirations as well,” Radha Kumar said.
 She also reiterated that Kashmir was a political issue which needed a political solution and Pakistan has a role to play in it.
 Kumar, an academician, along with another interlocutor M M Ansari are on a second official visit to the Valley. They started their second leg by visiting Leh and then Baramulla district in north Kashmir.
 Continuing with their trip, the interlocutors today visited South Kashmir town of Islamabad (Anantnag). The team had an interaction with a cross section of people including members from different political parties members from Gujjar, Pahari and Pakhtoons Welfare Associations, lawyers, teachers, traders and transporters in the Dakbanglow here at Khanabal.
 The members of various forms of Gujjars, Paharis and Pakhtoon demanded the implementation of centrally sponsored schemes and the scheduled tribe status.
 Transporters and the traders of Islamabad  town, while reminding the interlocutors of the promises made by the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru asked them to prepare a ground for resolving the Kashmir issue once for all.
 “During the past 20- twenty years we have been incurring huge financial losses and the state won’t prosper, till India’s keeps this issue lingering. We want a permanent solution to this problem and not a temporary arrangement which we think is possible when people from all regions of the state are granted the right to self determination,” transporters told interlocutors.
 The teachers from different villages of Islamabad (Anantnag) asked the interlocutors to consider the genuine aspirations of Kashmiris and make it a reference point in finding out a solution, through a dialogue process. They also said that dialogue was a futile exercise unless the excesses committed by the forces don’t stop and the process of demilitarization is not started. 
 The Youth President of the National Conference, Islamabad (Anantnag) Iftikhar Misgar while cautioning of misinterpreting the basic political problem said, “ The development issues and unemployment are the secondary issues for the people of Kashmir, what they want is the political solution to the problem. They want peace with dignity”.
 Eminent lawyer, Munir-u-din Shawl stressed on the need to make the armed forces and the police accountable and initiate a result oriented dialogue to settle the Kashmir issue once for all.
 Another, eminent lawyer, Mujeeb Ahmad cautioned the New Delhi of falling prey to the elements hell bent upon creating a wedge among the people of the Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of region, religion, sects, and ethnicity.
 The team is scheduled to visit Ganderbal on Saturday before summing up their trip on Sunday. The team would be visiting Jammu and Kashmir every month for 10-days and submit their recommendations about their assessment of the situation and steps needed to be taken to the Home Ministry regularly.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 IST