New Delhi, Apr 23: Government of India Saturday sought to distance itself from the work of the Kashmir Committee headed by eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani that plans to open channels of dialogue with the people of the state.
Highly placed sources said the government has nothing to do with the Committee and the three interlocutors appointed by it were only ones mandated to have dialogue with the people of the state.
“We have nothing to do with the Kashmir Committee. No member of the Committee has met the government. We continue to engage with the people of the state only through the three interlocutors,” the sources said.
 The clarification comes in the wake of confusion over reports that the Centre had appointed another Kashmir Committee which will hold parallel talks with separatists and other groups in the state.
 The three interlocutors appointed by the government in October last year are Dileep Padgaonkar, M M Ansari and Radha Kumar.
 Last Tuesday, Jethmalani had said that they decided to revive the decade-old Kashmir Committee that aims to open channels of dialogue with the people of the state to work out solutions to the issue.
 Apart from Jethmalani, the other member of the Kashmir Committee include senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, academic and editor Madhu Keshwar and journalist M J Akbar
 The Kashmir Committee is planning to visit the state next month to hold meetings with the people of the state, including members of civil society, media persons, and people with political affiliations including separatists. PTI
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WILL MEET SEPARATISTS SOON: JETHMALANI
 Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and head of the reframed Kashmir Committee, Ram Jethmalani Saturday said that he would soon meet separatist leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and others, to work out solution to Kashmir issue.
 “We want to open channels of dialogue with the people of the state to work out solutions to Kashmir issue. There are some misunderstandings between people of Kashmir and New Delhi. Our aim is to bridge the gap,” Ram Jethmalani told a local news gathering agency KNS.
 Jethmalani said after returning from Pakistan, where he is going on the invitation of Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Choudhary, the panel would visit the Valley in the first week of May to interact with the separatists. “As New Delhi appointed interlocutors couldn’t meet separatists, we would meet them so that we can work-out a solution to the problem,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:30:00 GMT
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