Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, has once again stated that APHC is not going to attend the round table conference called by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to be held on April 24 in New Delhi.

Speaking to rediff.com over telephone from his residence in the valley Mirwaiz said that no useful purpose would be served by attending the round table because the things that are likely to be discussed during the conference have nothing to do with the agenda of the Hurriyat who believe that the government ought to carry forward the dialogue it had initiated with it when the talks were started at former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time and later reaffirmed by Dr Singh.

"What is the point of holding discussion with the government to government level by New Delhi? All the parties who have been invited are those who have been participating in the elections for power. We cannot form any opinion about the participation because we have not yet got the invitation," he said.

He denied that Hurriyat would be relegated to the background if the government started holding discussions with those who are wielding the gun. "Why should be mind if the governments of India and Pakistan involve the militants in the peace process but then others from POK, North Eastern states of Pakistan have also to be involved," he said.

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