NEW DELHI, May 21: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was open to talks with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference but a mechanism had to be in place for holding the dialogue, Home Secretary V. K. Duggal said on Saturday. “The prime minister is most open to talks with anybody who has a concrete plan. He has 16 to 18 hours of the day dedicated to the public,” he said in response to a question on the impasse in the dialogue process between India and the Hurriyat Conference.
However, a mechanism had to be put in place for holding such talks, Mr Duggal told journalists after a meeting with the state representatives in held Kashmir. Answering a question as if the purpose of his visit to held Kashmir was to work out the mechanism, he replied in negative.
“This is my first visit to the state after taking over as the home secretary. I am here to listen how to do things which I will convey to the centre,” he added. He evaded a question on the possibility of a ceasefire within held Kashmir and said: “I have heard from several quarters about how to take the process forward. I am too small a fish to talk about these things,” according to a news report.
Mr Duggal said important and positive steps were being taken in held Kashmir to restore normalcy. “The return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants and the Amarnath yatra are positive steps. I think Kashmir is on its way to peace,” he said. —-APP
