Two of the three interlocutors appointed by the Centre to find a solution to the Jammu and Kashmir problem are back in the Valley. Academician Radha Kumar and Information Commissioner M M Ansari on Tuesday visited Leh and held meetings with a cross section of people. On Wednesday,they will visit Baramulla town to assess the ground situation in North Kashmir where more than 54 civilians were killed since the cycle of violence broke out in the Valley in June this year. Kumar and Ansari held meetings with Muslims,Buddhists,traders and members of the civil society in Ladakh. Chairman of the group Dilip Padgaonkar is not accompanying them as he is out of the country. The group held separate meetings with leaders of the Congress,National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party. The two-member group also visited villages devastated by the cloudburst in August and met affected families. The interlocutors held threadbare discussions with several delegations,especially from Ladakh,and received their feedback on various issues. The interlocutors met councillors of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. We held meetings with several delegations in Leh and discussed the cultural and linguistic identity of the Ladakh region, Kumar said. Some people demanded inclusion of the Ladakhi language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. Kumar said some even demanded Union Territory status for Ladakh. In Baramulla,the interlocutors will meet traders,lawyers,students,political leaders and members of the civil society. The interlocutors will submit monthly reports to the government after staying in the state for 10 days every month during its tenure. In their earlier visit,the interlocutors held talks with numerous delegations but failed to meet any prominent separatist leader. Both factions of the Hurriyat Conference,as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front,have rejected the appointment of interlocutors.
