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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
The chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, Abdul Gani Bhat, reacted cautiously to reports that the Indian government has set up a 23 member committee under the chairmanship of government interlocutor K C Pant to hold talks with APHC.
Star News had put out a story quoting government sources that the Vajpayee government had set up a twenty-three member committee to discuss the Kashmir problem with Hurriyat Conference.
According to the story, besides K C Pant, others who would constitute the committee including intelligence officials, minister from the Prime Minister's Office Vijay Goel, political leaders from other parties and top bureaucrats from home and external affairs ministries.
Talking to rediff.com from his residence in Srinagar, Bhat said that the APHC would wait for a formal announcement of the formation of such a committee and 'see what the terms of its reference are'.
"We are in no hurry to react. We would wait for the full details. Then the APHC would hold a meeting and then decide what to say about the government offer," Bhat said.
"Our stand is already known. If the government of India wants to hold any talks treating the Kashmir issue as internal issue then it may not be liked by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We want a permanent solution to this problem. Let us wait and see how things shape up," he added.
Vijay Goel, however, denied knowledge about any such committee, but said the government might talk to the Hurriyat leaders, adding that it is the prerogative of the prime minister to include any minister, if such a committee is set up.
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq could not be contacted as he was on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
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