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No talks with Kashmir militants, says Fernandes

Defence Minister George Fernandes today ruled out the possibility of holding talks with Kashmiri militants and separatist organisations.

Talking to the media at Srinagar airport after inaugurating the runway, the defence minister said that immediately after assuming office he had offered to hold talks with the militants to resolve the Kashmir problem. But the militants had refused to negotiate.

''We made several other efforts at different levels to bring these people on to the negotiation table but it was not possible.''

When asked about the main hurdle in initiating talks, Fernandes said this question could be well answered by militants and separatist groups themselves.

On the Kashmiri separatist groups demand for unconditional talks, the minister said, ''The word 'unconditional' itself is a condition.''

He said talks were on in the north-east because militants there had announced a ceasefire and were holding it.

He said the situation in Kashmir is entirely different from that in the north-east as people there have come to the negotiating table.

Asked why there was no common approach for resolving the Kashmir issue since Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was against holding talks with Kashmiri militants while some central leaders were for talks within the framework of the Indian Constitution, Fernandes said, ''We should respect Dr Abdullah's sentiments on this issue.''

UNI

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