Srinagar. Former IB Chief and Special Envoy to Kashmir , Dineshwar Sharma, said that the “ biggest challenge and the top priority in Kashmir is to de-radicalize the youth and militants and prevent it from turning into a Syria of India.’’
Sharma who headed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for two years from December 2015 said that his mission was to bring an end to violence and he would be talking to anyone “even a rickshaw puller or a cart puller who can contribute so that peace is ushered in the state as soon as possible”.
He said he is personally pained to see the path Kashmiris, particularly the youth, have chosen that would only destroy the society.
“I feel the pain and sometimes I become emotional also. I want to see this kind of violence ends as soon as possible from all sides. The youth of Kashmir like Zakir Musa (Kashmir Al Qaeda chief) and Burhan Wani (slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander) get hype when they talk about establishing Islamic caliphate,” said Sharma.
He said the way youth of Kashmir were moving towards “ radicalisation” it will ultimately “finish the Kashmir society itself.”
“I am worried about the people of Kashmir. If all this picked up, the situation will be like Yemen, Syria and Libya. People will start fighting in so many groups. So, it is very important that everybody, all of us, contribute so that suffering of Kashmiris end. I will have to convince the youth of Kashmir that they are only ruining their future and the future of all Kashmiris in the name of whether they call it Azadi (independence), Islamic caliphate or Islam.”
“ You can take examples like Pakistan, Libya, Yemen or any country where such things are going. They have become the most violent places in the world. So, I want to see that it doesn’t happen in India.”
“I am open to talking to everybody… He can be an ordinary student, ordinary youth, a rickshawwala with some good idea. I will consider that.”
Former IPS officer, who led the spy agency’s “Islamist Terrorism Desk” between 2003 and 2005, was named Monday to open talks in a bid to end the nearly three-decade-old insurgency in Kashmir.
Source:www.voiceofwadi.com
