NEW DELHI: Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that India is ready for talks with Hurriyat leadership.
Talking to the media on question of possibility of peace talks with Jammu and Kashmir-based separatist groups during new coming year 2012, he said that channels of communication with some of the separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir were open and there was a possibility of negotiation with them in the New Year if they came forward for dialogue.
He said that as far as talks with the separatists groups in Jammu and Kashmir is concerned; we are always open to talk to them, adding that it is not that the channels of communication with some of them have entirely cut off.
Chidambaram said that these channels are still open and it is possible that some of them will agree to come forward for talks in 2012. If they are ready for talks, we are ready for talks, he said.
Asked about the report of the three interlocutors on Kashmir, Chidambaram said the Cabinet Committee on Security has been briefed once on the interlocutors report.
They have asked for a fuller, longer briefing for which we have to find time and he hoped that, that will take place in early January adding that I hope that once the CCS is briefed, interlocutors report would be published. There is no hesitation in making it public and I hope this would be done in the beginning of 2012,†he said.
Chidambaram said the Home Ministry has alerted all states bordering Pakistan particularly Jammu and Kashmir about the possibility of militants from across the border striking in the coming days. An advisory to this affect has been sent by the Ministry to the states, he said.
He disclosed that the Ministry has received certain inputs that suggest that some conspiracy was being hatched to hit certain targets in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab in particular. While Punjab could become a soft-target for the militant groups in view of the coming Assembly elections in the state, J&K has been perpetually on their radar.
He said that the year 2011 has witnessed drastic reduction in violence in J&K, North Eastern states and in the Left Wing Extremism affected states. During 2011, 31 civilians and 33 security personnel were killed in the state as against 47 and 69 respectively in 2010.
It was due to the effective containment of violence in the state that the Panchayat elections could be held successfully after a gap of 23 years, Chidambaram said.
