Srinagar: PDP Chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday came out in support of the local Kashmiri terrorists, hailing them as the "sons of soil" and said that sincere efforts should be made by the government to save them.

The PDP chief also appealed to the Union Govt to initiate a dialogue with the local Kashmiri terrorists rather than using the bullet as a tool to end the "gun culture" in the terrorism-hit state.

"Right now, talks should be held with Pakistan and separatists. Similarly, the terrorist leaders should also be called for talks as it is they who have the guns and only they can end the gun culture," she told reporters in Anantnag after a party function.

"I believe at some stage, talks will have to be held with Hurriyat Conference and terrorists as well," she said.

The PDP chief, however, said that it was "too early (for talks with terrorists)". Mehbooba said it was everyone's duty to prevent local terrorists from walking on the path of violence.

"Right from the time I came into politics in 1996, I have been saying that local terrorists are sons of the soil and our maximum efforts should be to save them because they are assets. If an encounter breaks out, the two people (terrorists and security forces) come face to face and no one can do anything about it then," she said.

The PDP president had on Monday questioned the timing of filing of chargesheet in the 2016 JNU sedition case, in which seven Kashmiris have been named, saying the students were being used to score political points ahead of Lok Sabha elections.