Dineshwar Sharma: 10 things to know about Centre's new interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday announced that former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma will be the special interlocutor for sustained dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir.

Here are 10 things to know about Dineshwar Sharma:

1. As the Centre’s Special Representative, Sharma will hold a rank equivalent to a Cabinet Secretary.

2. "…Sharma will initiate a sustained interaction and dialogue to understand the legitimate aspirations of people in Jammu and Kashmir," Rajnath said.

3. Sharma was the Centre’s internal intelligence boss as director of the IB between December 2014 and 2016. He is known to keep a low profile.

4. Key events he dealt with as director of the IB include 2015 Gurdaspur attack, aftermath of the encounter of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in Kashmir, Uri attack in 2016, rise of ISIS recruitment in Kerala

5. This is not the first time Sharma is serving as an interlocutor. He has earlier served as the mediator for talks with various insurgent groups based in Assam.

6. He also has experience in Kashmir. He has served as DIG of the Border Security Force (BSF) and as the IG of CRPF in charge of Jammu and Kashmir.

7. His appointment as the Special Representative for dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir comes against the backdrop of a rising insurgency in Kashmir.

8. He has also served as Joint Director of IB (Islamist Terrorism Desk) from 2003-05 and as director of the BSF Academy.

9. During his 2-year tenure as Director IB, the agency busted a number of espionage modules including the one at the Pakistani high commission in Delhi

10. Sharma is a retired officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), from the 1979 batch of the Kerala cadre.