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Meeting with Hurriyat depends on India: Musharraf

K J M Varma in Islamabad

In an apparent softening of his stance, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said late on Saturday that his meeting with leaders of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference during his visit to New Delhi next weekend would depend on the Indian side, which has seemed a little "hesitant".

"We have invited Hurriyat leaders to a reception of the high commissioner on the evening of July 14. But I really don't know. I am not sure. It depends on the Indian authorities whether they permit them to meet me," General Musharraf said in a panel interview with selected journalists of different media organisations in Islamabad.

On Friday, foreign office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan had defended the move to invite the Hurriyat leaders, saying that they had been invited in the past for all-important occasions like Pakistan's National Day.

But India's High Commissioner in Pakistan Vijay K Nambiar conveyed to Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq on Friday night New Delhi's reservations over the change in Pakistan's stand on meeting leaders of the separatist conglomerate.

About the impact of India's decision not to allow the Hurriyat leaders to meet him, General Musharraf said, "Initially it may not impact that seriously because initially the really very important issue is the Indian acceptance of this core issue [of Kashmir] and sincere desire for moving forward [on that].

"But, no forward movement subsequently is really possible without the participation of the Kashmiri leaders. I think it will be very unrealistic if the Kashmiris do not join this dialogue at some stage in the future."

About the Indian allegations of Pakistani support for terrorism in the valley, he said: "Certainly we did not accept this allegation that Pakistan is fanning the trouble there. But we certainly have half of Kashmiris with us, and there are Kashmiris on this side and there are Kashmiris on the other side. There are sympathisers here. We certainly give diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris there.

"So to that extent one could attempt to influence their decisions, that is all I would like to say. One wouldn't like to certainly say that whatever is happening in Kashmir is under our aegis," he added.

On his repeatedly emphasising Kashmir as the "core" issue for the summit, Musharraf said, "Some Indian leaders are taking offence on why Kashmir should be emphasised over and over again. I don't know why they take offence. What else should be over-emphasised? It is the main issue on which we fought three wars, but it is still there."

Musharraf was, however, hopeful that the proposed summit would help the two sides move forward. "Yes, indeed I think we need to initiate and continue the process of dialogue. And the dialogue certainly should not be fruitless. It ought to be aiming at a direction, which moves towards resolution of the core issue," he said.

PTI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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