Priority is to prevent Kashmir from turning into Syria: Dineshwar Sharma

India's biggest challenge is to deradicalise youth and preventing the Valley from turning into Syria, said Dineshwar Sharma, the newly appointed Kashmir interlocutor.

"I am worried about the people of Kashmir. If all this picked up, the situation will be like Yemen, Syria and Libya. People will start fighting in so many groups. So, it is very important that everybody, all of us, contribute so that suffering of Kashmiris end," said Sharma.

"I feel the pain and sometimes I become emotional also. I want to see this kind of violence ends as soon as possible from all sides. The youth of Kashmir like Zakir Musa (Kashmir Al Qaeda chief) and Burhan Wani (slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander) get hype when they talk about (establishing Islamic) Caliphate," Sharma said in an interview to IANS.

On October 23, Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma was appointed as the special interlocutor for sustained dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir, which has seen a rise in insurgency in recent years.

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, who met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti during her Delhi visit on Thursday, is expected to travel to Jammu and Kashmir.

OneIndia News with agency inputs