Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Tuesday dispelled fears that a bureaucrat interlocutor would not be able to break the ice on the Kashmir issue.
Sayeed cited the famous Indira-Abdullah accord of 1975, the groundwork for which was done by bureaucrat G Parthasarthy, now retired.
Sayeed said N N Vohra, the Centre's new interlocutor on Kashmir, will arrive in Jammu on Wednesday to initiate wide-ranging talks. He asserted that the road map for dialogue would be drawn up in consultation with the state government.
Replying to a supplementary by senior National Conference leader and former works minister Ali Mohammad Sagar during question hour in the legislative assembly in Srinagar on Tuesday morning, Sayeed said the Centre's nominee would first talk to the elected representatives in the state.
"The dialogue would be unconditional and not by pick and choose," he said. "New Delhi has appointed Vohra on our initiative and the state government has a definite role in preparing the road map for talks."
Sayeed gave a clarion call to political parties to 'adopt a common approach and arrive at consensus for talks with the Centre's interlocutor for restoring peace with dignity in the state.'
He termed Vohra as 'a man of integrity, credited with very high-profile assignments.'
Sayeed said Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani had made it clear that 'talks would [also] be held with those who did not take part in elections'.
The chief minister urged the political parties to avail of the opportunity. "Such opportunities don't come again and again," he said.
He hoped that even though the political parties in the state differ on issues like governance, such an 'occasion needed to be tackled by adopting a joint approach'.
Two similar exercises, one by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pant and the other by former Union law minister Ram Jethmalani, had failed to rope in leaders holding divergent views.
Meanwhile, Vohra in New Delhi said his two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir is preliminary in nature and he intends to meet a number of important persons.
"I am going to Jammu on Wednesday and I will return to Delhi the next day. I will call on Governor Girish Chander Saxena and meet Mufti Mohammad Sayeed," Vohra said.
Vohra said he would also be meeting leaders of the National Conference and other opposition parties in the state assembly.
He said it was his desire to meet as many political leaders as possible on the trip, but added that it may not happen because some of the politicians in the state may be travelling at the same time. "But those who are willing to meet me, I would be only too happy to do so," he said.
Vohra said he would use his trip to draw up a calendar for his future schedules. "I would like to know where and when the political leaders of various parties and people from various walks of life would like to meet me," he said.
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