Concerned citizens appeal government to solve Kashmir issue through political dialogue

Concerned over the recurrence of violence, student protests and video war on social media in Kashmir, a group of activists, journalists and politicians including former finance minister Yashwant Sinha have appealed to the government to 'initiate a political dialogue' to resolve the issue.

The letter has been signed by 16 signatories including — retired chief justice of Delhi High Court AP Shah and former chairperson of national commission for minorities Wajahat Habibullah.

"The news of recurrence of violence, student protests and the video war on social media in Kashmir ought to disturb every rational Indian. Both the government and the Kashmiri protestors need to recognise that in democracies across the world peace has never been achieved through more violence or by retributive measures," the letter read.

"Nobody in his right mind should want a repetition of the events of 2016 — not the government and certainly not the Kashmiri civilians," it added.

"We urge the Central Government, to urgently initiate a political dialogue to prevent the recurrence of violence in Kashmir and restore the faith of Kashmiris in democratic processes to resolve their grievances. A continued reliance on military measures alone to sort out a problem which is entirely political is short-sighted to say the least and a great disservice to the nation," the signatories urged.