Kashmir interlocutors can be replaced
By IANSThursday, October 21, 2010
JAMMU - The three interlocutors on Jammu and Kashir can be replaced if they fail to hold a dialogue with the stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, according to a highly placed source.
In the light of adverse reaction in Jammu and Kashmir, the central government has got an impression that the interlocutors were less than welcome in the state, the source told IANS.
Journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, academic Radha Kumar and economist M.M. Ansari were named by New Delhi to hold a “sustained ddialogue” with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir.
Their appointment came in the backdrop of violent street protests that left 111 people dead in the Kashmir Valley since June 11.
“It’s not that the interlocutors have some kind of permanent nature. They can be replaced if the need be or of it is found that they are unable to talk to the stakeholders ,” the source said.
For now, they would be watched as they begin their headway in Jammu and Kashmir.
“There is no need to jump to conclusions as they would be tossing ideas from here to Delhi. They have no other power, nor that can ever be granted to the interlocutors,” the source said.
