The Interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir said today that implementation of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), listed by them after their first two visits, will facilitate the process of dialogue in the State but said their ultimate task was to work out a political settlement of the problem acceptable to all three regions and communities residing within the every region.

Reaching here this morning on their third seven day visit of the State from New Delhi, Chief Interlocutor, Dileep Padgaonkar and former Central Information Commissioner M M Ansari, for the first time here acquainted themselves with security scenario prevailing in Jammu region by meeting top brass of security forces, police and administration including IGP Jammu Ashok Gupta, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, IG BSF Siddarth Chattopadhyaya and IG CRPF Dinesh Kumar.

They also met Vice Chancellors of Jammu University and SKUAST and representatives of different student organizations.

Categorically denying the words attributed to him by a local newspaper on the State Government and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in an interview given to Channel X, Mr Padgaonkar told reporters in an informal chat on his arrival here that he has never ever uttered these words and the fact could be verified during telecast of interview tonight and repeat telecast in next few days. He also denied having favoured PDP’s self rule as a possible solution to the problem over autonomy as reported in some newspapers.

In a significant remark on the demand of troop reduction in the State, Mr Padgaonkar said: "we are convinced that anything which fulfills aspirations of the people will be done’’.

Clarifying the remarks attributed to him on favouring self rule, proposed by the opposition PDP, the Chief Interlocutor, who took most of the questions from the media persons, said they have been produced two set of documents, one the autonomy of National Conference and other the self rule of PDP.

"We haven’t passed judgment on any document. The words attributed to me that self rule is better than autonomy are totally fabricated. In fact, it is not our job to pass judgment. Our mandate is to come up with suggestions that how we can go about political settlement of the problem acceptable to all three regions and communities residing in every region’’, Mr Padgaonkar said.

His remarks came amidst reports carried by two newspapers today that he had praised the self rule document and described it as a possible solution. He was also quoted as having described Omar Abdullah Government as "inefficient and insensitive’’ saying that not even 30 per cent of Rs 6000 crore annual plan allocation has been spent so far. However, Mr Padgaonkar himself categorically denied his remarks saying that any one can watch the interview.

Both the Interlocutors will leave on a three days tour of twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri tomorrow. They will return to Jammu on December 20 and leave for Srinagar the next day where they will stay for three days before returning to New Delhi and submitting their third report to the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. Third Interlocutor Prof Radha Kumar didn’t accompany them as she was reported to be in Kabul but could join the duo later.

Mr Padgaonkar said they have made a number of suggestions and recommendations to the Centre Government after their first two visits in October and November during which they had covered all three regions of the State including hilly Leh and Kargil districts.

"The recommendations have been vetted and cleared by the Centre. Some of them pertained to the Central Government and some others to the State for implementation. Though these CBMs are not a substitute to political settlement, they would facilitate dialogue process. The State Government is looking with great sympathy at the CBMs and they are going to be implemented’’, he added.

The dialogue process between separatists and the Centre has been stalled for quite sometime now.

The Interlocutors were reported to have recommended release of separatists, some youth and stone pelters detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) during three month long unrest allowing peaceful protests by the people etc.

Regarding remarks attributed to him by a local newspaper in an interview given to Channel X, Mr Padgaonkar described them as "fabricated’’ saying he has never made them. "I have never uttered these words. The interview given by me to Syed Naqvi will be telecast tonight and repeated this week. Any one can watch the interview and see for himself what I have said. The remarks published in the paper are fabricated. You are responsible persons. You see the interview, judge it and draw your conclusion. The word mentioned in the newspaper were never ever said by me’’, he told the questioners.

He asserted that they were not here to pass judgment on the Chief Minister, the State Government or self rule. "We will focus on our mandate to evolve a broad consensus on political settlement of a situation to Jammu and Kashmir. That is our mandate also’’, he said.

To a question on setting up of "broad contours’’ for a political settlement to the decades old issue, the Chief Interlocutor said "we will visit various areas of Jammu region starting tomorrow from border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and meet cross sections of the society’’.

After the completion of seven days long third visit to the State, the Interlocutors are likely to submit the "broad contours’’ for a political settlement to the Kashmir issue.

Meanwhile, the two Interlocutors today inter-acted with the Divisional Commissioner and IGP Jammu besides IG BSF and IG CRPF collectively for about an hour.

Though the officials declined to comment on what transpired at the meeting, reliable sources said the Interlocutors wanted to know about the situation on militancy and infiltration fronts in Jammu region besides law and order situation and local assistance to the militants.

"It was a general security review. We told the Interlocutors on the number of militants killed, arrested, surrendered and those still active in Jammu region besides the situation prevailing on the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) and the number of infiltration attempts made’’, sources said.

Jammu University Vice Chancellor Prof Varun Sahni and SKUAST VC Prof Mishra besides representatives of a number of student organizations including scholars of Jammu University and heads of students bodies also met the Interlocutors.