Hurriyat Ready For Talks, Says Jammu And Kashmir Governor

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is much improved now and the Hurriyat is ready for talks, Governor Satya Pal Malik has said. The "temperature is lower," the Governor declared at a programme in Srinagar yesterday, in presence of Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Jitendra Singh.

"Things are much better than when I came here... You have noticed (the change in) Hurriyat. When Ram Vilas Paswan was standing at their door they didn't open the door. Now they are ready to talk," Mr Malik said. "So the difference is clear... the induction is almost at an end. Trouble during Friday prayers has also practically stopped... I try so that people can be brought back."

His remarks come after the recent comments of Hurriyat chief Mizwaiz Umar Farooq, who urged India and Pakistan to begin dialogues that have been stalled since the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri.

India has repeatedly underscored its position that terror and talks cannot go hand in hand.

Satya Pal Malik replaced NN Vohra as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year, when the state was already under Governor's Rule.

In March, when the Election Commission announced dates for the national elections, it had ruled out holding polls simultaneously in Jammu and Kashmir. The state government, he said, had advised against it in view of the law and order situation.

The announcement -- made weeks after the suicide attack in Pulwama, in which 40 soldiers died - had angered political parties in Jammu and Kashmir who alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre was not keen on initiating the democratic process in the state.

Last month, the commission indicated that it has received a green signal from the government regarding elections and the dates would be announced later this year.