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Vajpayee for talks on Kashmir after election

Basharat Peer in New Delhi

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has agreed to hold talks with the elected representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly and 'elements outside it', Kashmir Committee chairman Ram Jethmalani said on Thursday after meeting the prime minister.

He said Vajpayee described the election as a golden opportunity for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. "He [Vajpayee] expressed hope that participation in the election by forces who have not yet agreed to it will come about," he added.

The separatist All-Parties Hurriyat Conference had asked for linking the election with the 'permanent peaceful settlement' of the Kashmir issue.

While throughout the year the PMO's efforts to rope in the moderates within the Hurriyat bore no fruit, recently, a second rung Hurriyat and Jaamat-e-Islami leader Abdul Khaliq Hanif agreed to participate in the election. He was considered to be a one-time confidant of the hardline leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Shabir Shah is the only other prominent separatist who has been inclined towards participation in the election. Shah had expressed his willingness to meet the prime minister but it has not materialised.

His disappointment showed in the statement he made at his arrival at Jethmalani's residence. "Hum toh yahan haath milaane aaye the, par yahan koyee haath milaane ko tayyaar hee nahin hai (I had come here to shake hands, but no one seems to be willing to do it)," Shah said before beginning talks with the Kashmir Committee.

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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