Kashmir issue can be solved through talks, but Govt wasted 3.5 yrs: Cong

New Delhi, Oct 24: The Congress accused on Tuesday the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not having any Kashmir policy and said the issue can only be solved through dialogue and not through “hot pursuit”. Reacting to a question on the appointment of former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as Kashmir interlocutor here, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “Since Kashmir is a political issue, the Congress had always favoured dialogues with all stakeholders, and the government after three-and-a-half years has finally acknowledged it." He said peace in Kashmir was only possible through talks and the government should hold talks with all stakeholders whether it likes them or not. Alleging that the government has wasted three and half years, Mr Azad said, “Had the government taken a decision then, we would have not lost precious lives of hundreds of soldiers and civilians and neither kids have lost their eye sights due to pellet guns.” The Congress leader said though the government has appointed an interlocutor, he doubted the intention of the government as there was no time frame set for it. The government had on Monday appointed Mr Sharma as representative of the Centre to hold talks with stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir. UNI