SRINAGAR – National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah today said Pakistan is one of the parties in Jammu and Kashmir, and that India to talk to Islamabad too.Abdullah made these remarks shortly after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that former Director IB Dineshwar Sharma had been handpicked by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to hold a dialogue with stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking exclusively to India Today shortly after his appointment, Dineshwar Sharma said he will hold talks with the Hurriyat too.

“The announcement has been made just today. I will start dialogues as soon as possible,” he said.

Dineshwar Sharma, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IPS officer who retired as IB director on December 31, 2016, said he would visit Jammu and Kashmir in a “week or 10 days” to hold dialogues with the stakeholders.