NEW DELHI, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government Monday said it has appointed former intelligence chief Dineshwar Sharma to begin a "sustained" dialogue process in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The announcement was made by Home Minister Rajnath Singh during a press conference in New Delhi.
"The federal government has decided to initiate a sustained dialogue process in Jammu and Kashmir and for this former director of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Dineshwar Sharma has been appointed as Indian government's representative," Singh said.
"Sharma will talk to elected representatives of the state, political parties, different organizations, and persons."
According to Singh, Sharma will try to understand the legitimate aspirations of people through the sustained dialogue process.
"After talking to these people he would share his overall interaction with federal and local government," he said.
Analysts say this is the first initiative by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach out to Kashmiris especially after the last year's agitation.
A separatist movement and guerrilla war challenging New Delhi's rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. Gunfights between militants and Indian troops take place intermittently across the region.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
