AGENCY
New Delhi: A delegation of prominent Muslim leaders will visit Jammu and Kashmir soon as part of an unofficial initiative to help bring peace in Kashmir Valley, which has been witnessing unrest for more than 50 days.
The Muslim leaders of various parts of the country had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on two occasions recently and expressed their willingness to visit Jammu and Kashmir to help bring peace.
Sources said Singh has conveyed to the Muslim leaders that they were free to visit anywhere and if their trip to Kashmir Valley helps bring peace, it would be a welcome step. However, the sources made it clear that the Muslim leaders were not authorised to carry out any ‘Track-II’ dialogue with any stakeholder in the Kashmir Valley. The visit of the Muslim leaders has nothing to do with any ‘Track-II’ initiative but a goodwill initiative as all right thinking people are concerned over the situation in Kashmir, they said. The Muslim leaders are free to meet anyone, can interact with any individual, groups or separatists whomever they wish to meet, the sources said. The Muslim leaders will undertake the visit after the two-day tour of an all-party delegation on September 4-5.
Those who could be part of the Muslim delegation are former Rajya Sabha MP Shahid Siddiqui, former interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir M M Ansari, defence analyst Qamar Agha, senior journalist Zafarul Islam Khan besides others.
