Ready for talks with Hurriyat if they come forward: Rajnath Singh
Home Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated that the government was ready to hold dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference leadership if the separatists come forward for talks.
Singh, however, made it clear that so far there has been no indication from the Hurriyat that it was ready for peace talks with the government.
"I have already said that we are ready for dialogue with all stakeholders in Kashmir. If Hurriyat comes forward for talks, we don't mind talking to them. Whoever wants to talk with us, we are ready for talks," he told a TV channel here.
On
whether
there
was
any
indication
from
the
separatists
leadership
for
peace
dialogue
with
the
government,
Singh
said,
"There
has
been
no
indication
so
far."
The
government's
special
representative
Dineshwar
Sharma
is
holding
talks
with
a
cross
section
of
people
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir,
the
Home
Minister
said.
Singh's comments came days after the government had announced suspension of operations against the militants in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan that began on May 17.
Past attempts to initiate dialogue with the Hurriyat had failed after the separatists amalgam demanded declaration of Kashmir as "disputed" and involvement of Pakistan in the dialogue.