Hurriyat in touch with Kashmiri Pandits
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the hardline faction of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, on Tuesday demanded the immediate withdrawal of security forces from the Kashmir Valley. Addressing a mammoth gathering of over 1,00,000 people at Srinagar's Tourists Reception Centre Grounds along with fellow leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shabbir Shah and Yasin Malik, Geelani laid down its immediate demand: The withdrawal of security forces.
The Hurriyat delegation, also comprising Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Lone, was slated to return on January 24.
Pakistan on Friday claimed that any talks between the Indian government and separatist Kashmiri leaders will not be successful without its involvement.
Ahead of his talks with his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir will be meeting leaders of various separatist outfits from Kashmir over the next two days.
Suggestions from certain quarters, including Pakistan and the United States, about having "self-rule" in Jammu and Kashmir would also figure in the talks with Musharraf, he said.
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of All-Party Hurriyat Conference, has claimed that on July 13, the country will witness one of the biggest peaceful protests in their struggle for resolution of problem of Jammu and Kashmir.
"We are not going to attend the April 24 roundtable scheduled to discuss Centre-state relations or developmental issues," Hurriyat spokesman Shahid-ul-Islam told PTI.
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, told rediff.com, "Anyone who indulges in acts of terrorism on either side of the border should be held accountable and should be dealt with in accordance with the law, whether it is Ajmal Kasab or anyone."
Sources said the visit was likely to take place in the second week of December as the Mirwaiz was scheduled to attend two Organisation of Islamic Conference meets.
"We will be meeting Musharraf on April 16. This has been verbally communicated to us," Hurriyat Conference's founder-chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq told PTI.
Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq on Saturday blasted his hardline counterpart for accusing him of having a secret meeting with emissaries of Narendra Modi, saying Syed Ali Shah Geelani was making irresponsible statements aimed at creating confusion among people.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has assured the Hurriyat moderate faction that Islamabad was open to 'any solution' acceptable to the people of J&K on the Kashmir issue, its chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said.
Expressing grief over the Uttarakhand tragedy, the moderate Hurriyat Conference on Friday demanded restricting Amarnath Yatra to an earlier schedule to safeguard the fragile environment of Himalayas.
Musharraf briefed the Hurriyat delegation on his proposals to resolve the Kashmir issue and his recent talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Moderate Hurriyat leaders Abdul Gani Bhat and Lone brothers -- Sajjad and Bilal, who have been critical of terrorists recently, stayed away from Pakistan National Day celebrations where People's Democratic Party leader Maulvi Ifthikhar Hussain Ansari was a surprise guest. Both moderate and hard-line factions of the Hurriyat Conference were represented by their chairmen Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani respectively at the Pakistan Day celebrations.
India and Pakistan look to take the peace process to the next level.
Pakistan has assured that it would not put the core issue of Kashmir on the backburner, chairman of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said on Friday.
Hurriyat Conference on Friday voiced its dismay at India and Pakistan not making much headway at the talks between their foreign ministers, saying the outcome has left people in the Kashmir valley "disappointed."
Hard-line separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had asked the non-Kashmiri work force to leave the valley after the rape-and-murder of 14-year-old Tabinda Jan in Langate area of Kupwara district in which 2 labourers were allegedly involved.
Separatists from Kashmir valley on Tuesday met Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Gilani and were divided on the dialogue process between India and Pakistan with moderates terming it as necessary for building 'mutual trust' while hardliners dubbed it as a 'futile exercise'.
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani arrives in New Delhi on Tuesday to hold talks on Wednesday with his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai during which arrest of LeT terrorist Zabiuddin Ansari, who revealed Pakistan's involvement in November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to be raised by New Delhi.
Musharraf's proposals of demilitarisation, self governance and joint management could provide a foundation for the resolution of the Kashmir issue after appropriate amendments, Farooq said.
'America and Britain want a greater role in sorting out the Kashmir problem which they liken to the Palestine problem,' says Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, former chairman of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Indirectly blaming the militant groups for the attack, Khan said it seems to be the work of the forces opposed to the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan.
If talks are progressing in the right direction, the violence will come down automatically," the Mirwaiz contended.
Authorities on Thursday booked hard-line Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani under the stringent Public Safety Act and placed moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq under house arrest to foil their planned all-party meet to chalk out the future course of action. "We have booked him (Geelani) under PSA. There are a good number of grounds (for detention) against Geelani. I have signed the PSA warrant against Geelani and as per the orders," said the DM.
However, the APC failed to make any headway in his proposed formation of working groups as some political parties opposed the move.
India and Pakistan have no right to impose leaders or solutions on Kashmiris who have sacrificed their lives and honour for a sacred cause, he said.
'The only way to proceed forward is India-Pakistan, India-Kashmir and Pakistan-Kashmir,' says Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
Apparently trying to dabble in internal rivalry in the Hurriyat, Pakistan has invited hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the 'Chairman' of the amalgam along with six other Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting in Islamabad later this month.
Ahead of Indo-Pak foreign ministers meet in New Delhi on Wednesday, Pakistan Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Tuesday met both the Hurriyat Conference factions during which the separatists sought Islamabad's intervention for release of Ghulam Nabi Fai arrested in US for being a front of Inter Services Intelligence.
Former Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who along with another moderate leader Abdul Gani Bhat, attended the two-hour meeting, said such interactions should increase and similar meetings should be held in Muzaffarabad, Srinagar and Jammu.
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