Violence from any quarter must be thwarted for successful negotiation: Padgoankar

Srinagar: Dilip Padgaonkar heading the three interlocutors appointed by New Delhi to find political solution to vexed Kashmir issue Tuesday said that the 'violence from any quarter must be thwarted to make negotiations successful'. The team arrived in Srinagar on Tuesday after culminating four-day visit of Jammu region. The group favoured peaceful means for arriving at a political solution to the Kashmir problem. “It should be negotiated through peaceful means. Violence from any quarter must not be allowed to thwart it,” Padgaonkar, flanked by other group members, said during a press conference in Jammu. Soon after the team—Journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, Academician Radha Kumar and former Bureaucrat MM Ansrai –arrived here, they interacted with a group of youth under the banner of National Youth Corps. The group then interacted with Awami National Conference headed by Begam Khalida Shah. The group, presently on third leg of their visit, later visited Kashmir University and had deliberations with vice chancellor of the varsity. The interlocutors told the press that they have urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to expedite process to realize the recommendations made by the group following their first visit to the state in October last. “The Chief Minister assured us that this was being done,” Dileep Padgaonkar, heading the team of interlocutors said. The chief minister, he said, directed the senior most officials in the state to inform the interlocutors about the steps government has taken in this regard. The panel also vented out the principles it would follow to “search the political settlement of Kashmir.” He said that solution should be acceptable to all the three regions in the state to ensure their harmonious co-existence. “it should rest on pillars of democracy, rule of law and respect for the diversity of faith and culture in the state Respect for different faiths and cultures in the state should also be kept in mind before arriving at any settlement, he said. “Political, economic and administrative powers must be equally shared by the three regions and there should be an effective devolution of such powers to district, block and Panchayat levels,” Padgaonkar said. The group also called for facilitate movement of people and goods across the Line of Control. Detailing out the engagements in Jammu, the group said that it met over 100 social,political and religious groups in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts.