New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday welcomed central government’s initiative of a fresh dialogue to find a solution to the Kashmir issue, stating that it was the only way to go forward.

“Welcome the initiative of union government, appointing an interlocutor for leading a sustained dialogue with stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mufti tweeted.

She said dialogue on Kashmir issue was a “necessity of the hour.”

“It is a necessity of the hour. The only way we can tackle the issue is by having a dialogue. This dialogue initiative is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 15th August speech ‘na goli se, na gaali se, Kashmir ki samasya suljhegi gale lagaane se (we shall solve the Kashmir issue with dialogue),” she told media later in the day.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also said that a sustained dialogue will be initiated by the government to find a solution to the Kashmir issue.

“We have decided to initiate dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision has clearly underlined our government’s policy and intention towards Jammu and Kashmir,” Singh said on Tuesday.

Singh had appointed former director of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Dineshwar Sharma as the government’s representative to initiate dialogue with all stakeholders in the state.

Asked whether the government would engage leaders of separatist group — Hurriyat Conference — for a dialogue, the Home Minister said on Tuesday that he would leave that to Dineshwar.

A 1979-batch officer of Indian Police Service (IPS), Sharma served as IB director between December, 2014 and 2016.

Singh averred no power in the world could stop the government from resolving the Kashmir issue and hit out at Pakistan for its “impious” activities against India.

He stated that Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government at the centre has given a free hand to the army to act against militants in Kashmir.

“I would like to say that nobody needs to be worried about Kashmir. No power in the world can stop us from resolving the issue,” the Home Minister said.