Mr. Padgaonkar on his part stuck to his remark and maintained that what he had said regarding Pakistan was “obvious” and there was nothing new. The three-member panel is on its first visit to the Kashmir Valley after it was set up 10 days back.
The BJP on Sunday slammed Dileep Padgaonkar, head of the interlocutors’ panel for Jammu and Kashmir, for his comment that Pakistan has to be involved for a permanent solution of the Kashmir issue and demanded that the PMO explain if this was part of the brief to the team.
The journalist also said a dialogue with Pakistan is “as necessary” as the dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir to resolve the Kashmir issue which is a “bilateral dispute going on since 1947-48.”
The BJP said the comments sounded as if the panel was rationalising Pakistan’s stand on its “unfinished agenda” on Kashmir and that it was “arguing” from the Hurriyat angle in this matter.
“The BJP demands that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) immediately clarify if this was part of the brief given to the interlocutors,” party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said in New Delhi.
She expressed the fear that the comments by Mr. Padgaonkar even before it could start its assignment “is unnecessarily internationalising the process.” “What was the Pakistan dimension that the interlocutor was referring to? Is this part of the brief given or has he stepped beyond its (the panel’s) brief?” she questioned.
Mr. Padgaonkar had said on Saturday that the panel is in Jammu and Kashmir to look for a permanent solution to the Kashmir dispute but a permanent solution is not possible without the involvement of Pakistan. Mr. Padgaonkar told PTI in Srinagar on Sunday that the panel had not been given any brief by the government and pointed to Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s statement that there are no red lines.
“What I have said with regard to Pakistan is the obvious. I have not said anything that has not been said before.
“I have not exceeded my brief as we did not get any brief. The Home Minister has said there are no red lines or boundaries. We know what we are doing,” Mr. Pandgaonkar said.
He recalled that Parliament had also passed a resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, asking Pakistan to vacate those areas which it has occupied. “This shows that there is a Pakistan dimension to these issues,” he said.
Ms. Sitharaman said “The comments sound as if they are rationalising Pakistan’s stand on its unfinished agenda on Kashmir. Furthermore, it seems as if the panel is arguing from the Hurriyat angle in this matter.”
Asked whether the party would seek recall of the panel, the BJP spokesperson said, “At this stage we want the Prime Minister to say whether this was (the statements) part of their brief.”
Mr. Padgaonkar, however, said Pakistan had been involved in the Kashmir issue since 1947 and the Indian government had recently stated it was “ready to walk more than half the distance” to settle all matters with Pakistan.
He said the usage of words to describe the problem in the state was not as important as to find a way out.
“We have to put the terrible situation that the state has suffered during the past 63 years behind us and the only way to do that is through a sustained dialogue, which can lead to a comprehensive solution,” he said.
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