Government on Friday told the Supreme Court it was ready to talk to recognised political parties in Jammu and Kashmir to resolve the crisis there but not with the separatists, Sources said.

According to the report by news agencies, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi asserted that government would negotiate with the recognised parties only and not with the separatist elements.

He rubbished  the claim of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association that the Centre was not coming forward for discussion and dialogue to resolve the crisis.

The bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justices DY Chandrachud and SK Kaul asked the Bar Association to come with suggestions to resolve the crisis, including stone-pelting and violent agitation on the streets of the Kashmir Valley.

The bench also made it clear to the Centre that the court would involve itself in the matter only if there was a view that it can play a role and there was no jurisdictional issue.

“If you feel the court has no role and if you feel we have no jurisdiction, we will close the file at this moment,” the bench told the AG who, at the end of the hearing, objected to some of the suggestions made by the bar body including that the separatists were being ignored.

The bench also said both the parties have to take a joint step but the first step has to come from the lawyers’ body which has approached the apex court.

It also said it was aware that the situation in Kashmir Valley was not very palatable, while posting the matter for further hearing on May 9.

The apex court was hearing hearing an appeal filed by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association against the High Court order seeking stay on the use of pellet guns as a large number of people had been killed or injured due to their use.

During the last hearing on April 10, the Centre had told the Supreme Court it was exploring a crowd control option that is akin to rubber bullets but not as lethal as pellet guns that are being used currently as a last resort to quell violence in the Valley.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court had on September 22 rejected the plea seeking a ban on use of pellet guns on the ground that the Centre had already constituted a Committee of Experts through its memorandum of July 26, 2016 for exploring alternatives to pellet guns.

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