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'Train going nowhere': Hurriyat rejects talks

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Thursday, in a politely drafted statement, rejected the dialogue offer from the Centre's negotiator, K C Pant.

The decision came after a two-hour long meeting on Thursday afternoon, which was attended by all the senior executive members of the Hurriyat.

In a statement in Urdu, which was read out to the waiting newsmen by the Hurriyat chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, the APHC said there would be no meaningful result if a bilateral dialogue on Kashmir is started between New Delhi and the Hurriyat.

The statement, released after an extended debate and discussion said, "The Indian government wants to deal with Kashmir as an internal, law and order problem and this is contrary to the proclaimed stand of the people of Kashmir."

The statement ridiculed the central government for placing what it called 'conditions on its own promises', since Pant has drafted his offer 'in a manner that intends to ignore the trilateral dimension of the problem'.

The statement said, "The government is promise-bound to allow the APHC to visit Pakistan. as that visit would enable us talk to the Pakistani government and the militants. The Indian government is honouring its commitment to allow us to visit Pakistan in breach and not in observance. Only an honest and unconditional tripartite dialogue between India, Pakistan and the people of the troubled state can yield permanent peace in Kashmir.

"It is tripartite talks that can solve the Kashmir problem and restore peace in the whole sub-continent. Our Pakistan visit will set the tune for the peace process. We will speak to the Pakistan government and various militant leaders. Later we will talk to the government."

"We don't want to board a train going nowhere. We want to board a train with a destination," Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, who himself read out the statement to waiting journalists at the Hurriyat headquarters, shot back while replying to a question on the offer of talks by New Delhi.

The Hurriyat statement said, "Pant's offer would not bring down the level of violence in the state or help in anyway to pave way for peace in the state."

The statement castigated the central government for what it said "always playing a time-buying game in Kashmir". "Prime Minister Vajpayee's announcement of a unilateral ceasefire had generated a ray of hope, but the same was quickly extinguished by the hardline forces within the central government. The result has been that the ceasefire exercise has come to mean nothing to the people of the state whose daily sufferings have in fact multiplied during this period," it added.

EARLIER REPORT:

APHC executive to decide on talks in the afternoon

The Kashmir Cease-Fire: The Complete Coverage

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