With a serious dialogue process about to begin between the Centre and the separatists, the Hurriyat — scared by some recent developments — decided to to pull out at the last minute, said the J-K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today.In an interview to The Indian Express on the first anniversary of his party’s victory in the Assembly polls, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said ‘‘Channels of communication were open to them. They were engaged at different levels but they got scared to move forward’’. He said there was a need for the separatist leadership to come out of its inherent contradictions and be willing to grab the opportunity. Saying that the Centre needs a serious partner to initiate a dialogue, Mufti said: ‘‘They cannot announce another process and have nobody (from the separatists) ready to engage formally’’. Reiterating that there was no other way than a dialogue on Kashmir, he said: ‘‘I have been telling the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister that there is no alternative.’’ He also said the Centre needs to appoint an emissary to talk to the separatists. ‘‘I have nothing against N.N. Vohra (Centre’s point man on Kashmir) but if the separatists don’t want to talk to him, the process should not be stalled. If they want to speak to the PM, there should be no problem in that,’’ he said.He said the best way to move forward on Kashmir would be for the Centre to hold an all party discussion. ‘‘There needs to be a consensus across the political spectrum at the national level on Kashmir,’’ he said. Agreeing that the lack of a serious dialogue with separatists a year after his party won the elections on the same political agenda was disappointing, he said: ‘‘You need to understand that this is a difficult process. The political process is on. (Separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah) Geelani is out making speeches every Friday. Yasin Malik is carrying on with his signature campaign. Sajjad Lone is doing his political work. National Conference too is gearing up. In fact, we want them to play the role of an Opposition more vibrantly.’’‘‘We have already given the people a substantial sense of security. They are now coming out on issues like water and electricity. They protest whenever there are excesses. People have started coming out to express themselves and this is a democratic process,’’ he said.When asked as to how he would prove that the situation has improved especially as turmoil was just a grenade blast or an attack away, Mufti said: ‘‘We have to co-exist with the violence but can anybody deny that there is a substantial change? We cannot move much if there is no dialogue. The negotiating table is the only answer.’’Responding to a question, Mufti said that he and his party have not shunned their political agenda. ‘‘We are working toward realising our goals. We are hopeful that we will make a headway,’’ he said. ‘‘I am hopeful of the opening up of the Srinagar-Rawalpindi road as well. But all this will take time,’’ he said. He said that his government had been making efforts to move ahead in development too. ‘‘We are getting the Centre’s support to confront issues like unemployment. We are going to appoint 24,000 teachers. There will be 3,000 jobs in Anganwari centres. We are also raising seven Home and Hearth battalions which will account for another 7,000 jobs. There are another 3,000-4,000 jobs in the railways,’’ he said.
