Separatist leader seeks new panel on Kashmir

Senior separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah on Tuesday suggested setting up a Kashmir committee headed by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to frame a policy and build consensus in the country on the the Kashmir problem.

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"Formation of a Kashmir committee under the chairmanship of Vajpayee consisting of former prime ministers as members is imperative," Shah, who heads the Democratic Freedom Party, told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with a visiting European Union delegation here.

He said V P Singh, I K Gujral, Chandrashekar and H D Deve Gowda, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu and Samata Party leader George Fernandes be made members of the committee and be entrusted the job of mobilising public opinion in the country to resolve the issue.

Welcoming the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York, Shah said it had generated hope among the people in Kashmir, but the spirit needed to be maintained.

"Kashmir is a political issue and needs a political solution to satisfy the demands of Kashmiris," Shah said, reiterating his demand to involve Kashmiris in the talks between India and Pakistan.