At a time when Centre has appointed former Intelligence Bureau Chief Dineshwar Sharma as an interlocutor to carry out sustained dialogue on Kashmir issue, Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has called for a shutdown in Kashmir on October 27.
Although the call for the shutdown doesn't appear to have been influenced by Centre's decision to start dialogue process in Kashmir, 'Kashmir shutdown' call highlights the tough task ahead for Dineshwar Sharma.
There have been reports which suggest that government is not averse to holding talks with Hurriyat and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has empowered Dineshwar Sharma to chart out the plan for the dialogue process. Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said Dineshwar Sharma, would decide whom he engages with for the peace talks in Kashmir.
Asked if Sharma would hold talks with the Hurriyat Conference, as suggested by some state politicians, Singh said, "It depends upon him whom he talks to or engages with him."
According to a report in Greater Kashmir, Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has called for a shutdown on October 27, saying “it is an unfortunate day for the Kashmiris when we were deprived of our freedom and liberty”. Calling it as “black day and the day of mourning” for the Kashmiris, JRL comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik called for complete shutdown on the day.
“71 years back India without any constitutional and moral justifications forcibly occupied the state of Jammu & Kashmir on the same day and since then Indian forces are mercilessly killing innocent and unarmed Kashmiris, vandalizing their properties and are involved in sexual assault on women,” said the JRL, in a statement, issued in Srinagar on Tuesday, reports Greater Kashmir.
According to a report in Times Now, Hurriyat Conference on Tuesday rejected the peace talk offer and declared that there can be no talks until Pakistan is made a part of the dialogue. Its senior leader Moulvi Abbas Ansari said that they want a tripartite arrangement where Pakistan is included.
