Ignore Hurriyat leaders for two years as they refused dialogue on Kasmir unrest: Ex-Home Secretary

New Delhi: Former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai on Tuesday urged the government to ignore the Hurriyat leaders for two years after they refused to talk to some MPs who visited the Kashmir Valley.

"The Hurriyat leadership can be ignored for two years if they are not interested in talks," Pillai told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on border security here.

He went on: "These issues are peripheral and minor. We should work to empower the local people as they are more concerned about jobs and their children`s education."

He said the common people in Jammu and Kashmir were more interested about day-to-day affairs and economic issues.

Later, talking to IANS, Pillai stressed the importance of empowering the locals and Panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir and said this would prove more vital to secure border areas and bring major improvement in the state.

"At present in Jammu and Kashmir, local Panchayats do not have any power and steps should be taken to empower them. This will help bringing in new set of local leaders."

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who led an all-party delegation to Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday flayed Kashmiri separatist leaders after they refused to talk to some MPs from the team, saying their conduct defied the spirit of "Kashmiriyat".

The delegation visited the state nearly two months after a bloody unrest erupted following the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

At least 75 persons have been killed and over 12,000 injured in the weeks of the turmoil, the deadliest Kashmir has seen in six years.