Dineshwar Sharma formally appointed Centre’s interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir
Home minister Rajnath Singh said former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma will be appointed as India’s representative to hold a ‘sustained dialogue’ with Kashmir.
The appointment will be effective from the date Sharma joins till further order. The detailed terms and conditions of the appointment will be issued separately, the order says.
A Kerala batch IPS officer, Sharma took over from Syed Ibrahim as the IB chief on 31 December, 2014. Sharma was posted as assistant director between 1992 to 1994.
Sharma then served as the chief of IB till December 2016. Among his colleagues, Sharma is known to be “quiet, bright and savvy.” “He is well-versed in issues related to terrorism and the entire spectrum of security matters,” an IB official was quoted.
“It’s like homecoming for me. I am sure that I will be able to fulfil the expectations of the government and people of the country,” Sharma told PTI.
Over the last one year, violence has escalated in the Valley since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Incidents of stone-pelting mobs including women and children clashing with security forces have increased.
Sharma would require support from the Mehbooba Mufti government and ground-level assessment to make the initiative credible. “A Kashmir dialogue is a minefield that will have to be negotiated by Sharma as consensus needs to be built on common issues while avoiding the contentious legacy issues of the past,” the official said.
Leave a reply