NEW DELHI, Sep 26 (PTI) As hardline Hurriyat Conference dismissed the Centre’s Kashmir initiative, the Minister of State in the PMO, Mr Prithviraj Chavan today said the package was not meant for the separatists but for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and hoped that a “positive” reaction to emerge soon.

Mr Chavan, who was talking to the media on the sidelines of a function here, was asked about Hurriyat Conference faction headed by Mr Syed Ali Shah Geelani terming the eight-point package for Kashmir announced yesterday as an “eyewash”.
     “It is a package not for the separatists but for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I am sure when the package unfolds, the intention of the government to sooth the frayed tempers comes to the fore, there will be a positive reaction,” the minister said.
      Noting that there had been positive reaction from some quarters, he said that he did not expect the “separatists to offer any positive reaction as they have a different agenda.
     “But we are willing to talk to anyone who wants to find a solution... Political leaders, social leaders, NGOs, even people with different ideology... We are willing to talk to them,” Mr Chavan said.
     He said the package has just been announced and when all information about will filter into the public and it will be discussed, the intention of the government to reach out to people of Jammu and Kashmir will become clear and there will be a positive reaction.
     Under a major 8-point initiative to address the unrest in the Kashmir valley, a group of interlocutors is being appointed to hold a “sustained dialogue” with various shades of opinion, about 200 youth detained for stone-pelting are being released and the presence of security personnel is being de-scaled.
     Significantly, the notification of areas as “disturbed” will be reviewed which could pave the way for non-application of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to certain parts which will cease to be treated as disturbed