New Delhi, Sept. 17: In a bid to accord high stature to the All-Party Delegation to Jammu and Kashmir early next week, the government on Friday decided that the home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, would lead the team, which will comprise of representatives from all political parties, including Leaders of Opposition in both the Houses of Parliament, Ms Sushma Swaraj and Mr Arun Jaitley. In the meantime, the PDP patron, Mr Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, called up the CPI leader, Mr A.B. Bardhan to impress upon him the need for a “serious effort” to resolve the current crisis.
The delegation, that will visit Kashmir on Monday and Jammu on Tuesday, will meet leaders of all sections of the political spectrum in the state to ascertain their views on ending the three-month long crisis in the state, which left 80 people dead.
Among the separatists, Mr Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mr Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the JKLF chief, Mr Yasin Malik, are being short listed to be invited for meeting the delegation. A separate notice will also be issued for people to voice their concerns before the all-party delegation, the sources added.
Apart from Mr Chidambram, the Congress has decided to send the parliamentary affairs minister, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal also as part of the delegation. Congress and BJP will have two representatives each, while the others will have single representation in the delegation.
On its return from the state on Wednesday, the delegation will submit its report to the government.