Former Intelligence chief Dineshwar Sharma has been appointed as interlocutor for Kashmir by the Centre
Former Intelligence chief Dineshwar Sharma, who has been appointed as an
interlocutor for Kashmir by the Centre, on Tuesday said the youth of the Valley was getting radicalized and Pakistan was playing a major role in alienating them.
"The youth and people of Kashmir have to realise what is good for them... I will make them realise that whether they should be working at the behest of some foreign power or they should be working for their own future," Dineshwar Sharma said, while talking exclusively to NDTV.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday had clearly said that aspirations of youth would be one of the core points which the Centre would like to work on.
"Youth is an important factor not only in Kashmir but the entire country... Youth are future of Kashmir. I will try to convince them that for future of Kashmir and for their own future they need to play a constructive role," added Mr Sharma.
The issue of jobs is going to be challenging one as the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir is higher than the average national unemployment rate.
Statistics reveal that Jammu and Kashmir's 24.6 per cent population in the age of 18-29 years is unemployed, which is far more than the country's unemployment rate of 13.2 per cent.
The soft-spoken former intelligence chief also refused to give any opinion on why first three interlocutor reports have been shelved by previous governments. "I will not like to answer this question let me go and see, meet people there can be many level of talks and I hope some solution will come," he said.
As on what his mandate would be, Mr Sharma clarified that the Home Minister had already spelt it out when he did his press conference. "I would like to speak to all the stake holders," he said.
As far as the separatists are concerned, Mr Sharma said after his visit he will get a response to his appointment and then he will decide whom all to meet and when.