Rashid used to be a member of the Democratic Freedom Party, but quit in 2001 following difference with its leader Shabir Shah. He later joined the Muslim League, a constituent of the Hurriyat.
Jamaat-e-Islami has removed the hardline leader in an attempt to moderate the extremist voices in the separatist amalgam.
This will be the first interaction between Jammu and Kashmir's moderate separatist group and the United Progressive Alliance dispensation as part of the dialogue process.
While Mirwaiz Farooq was assassinated inside his Nageen residence in capital city this day in 1990, Abdul Gani Lone, the founder of Peoples Conference (PC) fell to assassin's bullets the same day in 2002.
The Hizbul Mujahideen chief said he could not back their peace moves or any future Kashmir solution unless hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was taken on board, local media reported.
"We have no objection if they [the Hurriyat leaders] want to travel to Delhi and hold talks with the Indian leadership," he said.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday met Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, who had also met Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi earlier. Pakistani officials said that during the 30-minute meeting, Farooq briefed Zardari about the All Parties Hurriyat Conference's perspective of the ground realities in Kashmir.Earlier, the Pakistan foreign minister met Farooq, ahead of his meeting with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of APHC leaders in Srinagar, Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said: "The decision to visit Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir was taken at a meeting of the conglomerate here."
The separatist outfit wants to understand the Northern Ireland peace process and determine if it can be applied to the Kashmir problem.
The two factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Tuesday reacted cautiously to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's proposal to demilitarise some regions of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control and grant them automomy.
The amalgam has deferred its meeting to discuss the Centre's invitation so that its members can watch the Peshawar match.
A visiting delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Sunday met leaders from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. The Hurriyat delegation, led by the group's chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, met the political leadership of PoK in Muzaffarabad.
In a surprise move on Wednesday, Hurriyat chairman Moulavi Abbas Ansari quit and handed over charge to the Mirwaiz.
Supporting the India-Pakistan talks and peace process, he said dialogue was imperative but there should be the world community's involvement at a certain level to reach a solution acceptable to all the parties concerned.
Former governor of Jammu and Kashmir Girish Chandra Saxena has dealt with Hurriyat leaders for many years. Here he paints Hurriyat's profile exclusively for rediff.com.
"But you have to be careful because the Indian government will never like a solution where it has to totally compromise on Kashmir," Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said.
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday arrested Masarat Alam Bhat, the spokesman of the joint co-ordination committee of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. Bhat had been evading the police since the past fortnight.Reportedly acting on a tip-off, the police arrested Alam from near Lal Chowk today evening.The police had raided several places in the last 15 days, in an attempt to arrest the second rung of separatist leaders, who played a key role in organising the protests.
The amalgam was on Saturday served a notice to vacate the premises in Malviya Nagar, Hurriyat sources said.
This is the first meeting between the Hurriyat and an Indian prime minister.
Chairman of the moderate, All Parties Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq on Friday lambasted the government for 'wooing tourists from Israel'.
The meeting presided over by APHC chairman Moulvi Mohammad Abbas Ansari is being attended by all senior members, including executive members Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Gani Lone, Hurriyat sources said.
Before leaving for a conference of Asian NGOs to be held in Hyderabad, Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said that during the meet he would highlight the need for tripartite talks on the issue.
Facilitating the return of expatriate Kashmiri leaders will also feature in the first meeting between the Centre and All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
'We know the resolution of the Kashmir issue can only be found through dialogue. We are not shying away from that,' Mirwaiz Omar Farooq said.
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