<p>Informed sources told IANS that the chief minister is keen on an early start of a dialogue between the interlocutors and representatives of the many shades of opinion in the troubled state.<br /><br />But he wants a fourth person to join the team, one who carries weight politically, to make "a fruitful beginning in the dialogue process" in the present troubled times, the sources said.<br /><br />Abdullah has apparently conveyed the demand to Home Minister P. Chidambaram.<br />Chidambaram Wednesday announced three interlocutors: journalist Dilip Padganokar, academic Radha Kumar and economist M.M. Ansari. <br /><br />The minister had declared that the three were well-known and “credible people” having a political persona.<br /><br />But the reaction from mainstream and separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir has been one of dismay.<br /><br />There was a muted response to the names from the ruling National Conference while the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party described it as a “dampener of hope”. <br /><br />The separatists called Chidambaram's announcement an “exercise in futility”. Peoples Conference chief Sajjad Gani Lone said the appointment of the three people was “insulting” to the people of Kashmir.<br /><br />According to the sources, the chief minister has studied all the reactions and asked the central government to include someone whose appeal would stretch to the alienated sections.<br /><br />Chidambaram's announcement followed weeks of unrest and street protests in the Kashmir Valley in which more than 100 civilians were killed, mostly in firing by security forces.<br /><br />Faced with frequent paralyzing shutdowns in the Kashmir Valley, the central government said it was ready to talk to everyone in the state in a bid to restore normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.</p>
<p>Informed sources told IANS that the chief minister is keen on an early start of a dialogue between the interlocutors and representatives of the many shades of opinion in the troubled state.<br /><br />But he wants a fourth person to join the team, one who carries weight politically, to make "a fruitful beginning in the dialogue process" in the present troubled times, the sources said.<br /><br />Abdullah has apparently conveyed the demand to Home Minister P. Chidambaram.<br />Chidambaram Wednesday announced three interlocutors: journalist Dilip Padganokar, academic Radha Kumar and economist M.M. Ansari. <br /><br />The minister had declared that the three were well-known and “credible people” having a political persona.<br /><br />But the reaction from mainstream and separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir has been one of dismay.<br /><br />There was a muted response to the names from the ruling National Conference while the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party described it as a “dampener of hope”. <br /><br />The separatists called Chidambaram's announcement an “exercise in futility”. Peoples Conference chief Sajjad Gani Lone said the appointment of the three people was “insulting” to the people of Kashmir.<br /><br />According to the sources, the chief minister has studied all the reactions and asked the central government to include someone whose appeal would stretch to the alienated sections.<br /><br />Chidambaram's announcement followed weeks of unrest and street protests in the Kashmir Valley in which more than 100 civilians were killed, mostly in firing by security forces.<br /><br />Faced with frequent paralyzing shutdowns in the Kashmir Valley, the central government said it was ready to talk to everyone in the state in a bid to restore normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.</p>