Cong, BJP's reaction immature: Separatist leader on Pak envoy meet

Lashing out at the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party for opposing the proposed meeting of separatist leaders with the Pakistan high commissioner, both moderate and hardline factions of the Hurriyat Conference on Monday said their reaction was unwarranted and demonstrated political immaturity.

Opposition to the proposed meeting by Congress showed the party is not serious about resolving the Kashmir problem, the moderate Hurriyat said. “We strongly criticise the statement of Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari raising hue and cry over the proposed meeting with the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi,” Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the moderate faction, said.

 By making such statements, Congress has once again proved that it was never serious in finding a solution to the Kashmir Issue, he added.

“Instead of encouraging the process of consultations among the stakeholders, the Congress leaders have chosen to score points by resorting to petty politicking against their contender who made them suffer a humiliating defeat in recent Parliamentary polls,” Mirwaiz said.

The Congress leadership should rise to the occasion and exhibit maturity and responsibility, he said.

The BJP’s reaction amounted to shying away from the reality, Mirwaiz said adding “the road to economic progress and removal of poverty from the sub-continent passes through the resolution of Kashmir issue”.

The hardline Hurriyat, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, advocated a “realistic approach” to address the Kashmir issue while flaying both BJP and Congress for opposing the proposed meeting. “The reaction is unwarranted and demonstrates political immaturity. This is not for the first time that such a meeting is taking place,” hardline Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said in a statement.

“Such types of meetings are routine. Whenever there is any forward movement in the dialogue, the Pakistan government exchanges views with the Kashmiri leadership,” he said. Hurriyat leadership had, in the past, met the Pakistani rulers, ministers and high commissioners, the spokesman said.

“Congress and BJP leaders are making such statements to score points against each other," he said adding the amalgam advocates a realistic approach in resolving the Kashmir issue.

Image: Protests outside Pakistan High Commission. Photograph: ANI/Twitter