NIA probe not linked to talks: Dineshwar Sharma

Former IB director Dineshwar Sharma, who has been appointed as the Centre's special representative in Kashmir, on Tuesday said the NIA probe into the terror funding case and talks with the stakeholders in Kashmir issue are not linked.

"NIA probe and our talks are two different issues," Sharma told the media today.

Sharma who held the post of IB director has immense experience in tackling terrorism. Besides Kashmir, he has also served in the north-eastern states that were hit by militancy. Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said Sharma will be Government of India's representative and his rank will be equivalent to that of a Cabinet Secretary.

When asked if the Hurriyat would be involved in the talks, Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said, "what has to be done and how, will be his (Dineshwar Sharma) decision."

Meanwhile, the Congress asked the goverment to state in clear terms who the stakeholders are in the Kashmir issue.

"Home Minister should have said yesterday who are the stakeholders..How is an interlocutor going to trace the stakeholders? Govt should have said that clear yesterday," senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

The Kerala-cadre officer, who was posted as assistant director between 1992 to 1994, went on to head the IB from 2014 to 2016.

The 61-year-old -- at present the Centre's pointperson for dialogue with Assam-based militant groups -- said he feels honoured that he has been assigned such a challenging task.

OneIndia News