New Delhi:
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) general secretary Prakash Karat met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday and asked him to 'take a bold initiative for a political dialogue' in Kashmir without preconditions.
In a letter to the Prime Minister Karat said, "Police firing in Kashmir must stop immediately and injured civilians in hospitals must be given compensation."
The Disturbed Areas Act which allows for special Army laws should be lifted from Srinagar and the Prime Minister should take a bold initiative for political dialogue, the letter said.
"I would like to stress that our Party feels that it is only by recognising the special status of the state and assuring the Kashmiri people of their identity that a solution can be found. This requires a new political framework in which the bedrock is maximum autonomy," Karat said when asked about the issue.