Kashmir interlocutors submit report to Chidambaram

JAMMU - The three interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir have submitted a report to union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, stressing on the right to protest and outlining a basic framework to bring peace in the state, an official source said Monday.

Journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, academician Radha Kumar and economist M.M. Ansari in their report have stressed on the basic right of the people to protest, the official said.

“This right cannot be denied to the people having grievances,” the official, aware of the content of the report, told IANS.

The central government had appointed the interlocutors in the wake of street protests in Kashmir and police action in which more than 100 protestors were killed in the summer of 2010. The interlocutors were tasked with suggesting ways of bringing about sustained peace in the state.

The interlocutors have been interacting with various sections of society and have met key political figures in the state, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti.

According to the informed sources, the recommendations have underlined the fundamental principle of according respect and dignity to the people of the state. “Unless the people are given due respect, things cannot move in a right manner,” the report cautioned.

This report, which has come three months after the constitution of the panel of interlocutors, has also asked the security forces to be trained in a manner to deal with the protestors in a “humane way”, the official said.

The appointment of the interlocutors is for one year. The interlocutors have adopted a step by step approach, the official added.