Search the Internet          Tips

Hurriyat asks Musharraf to raise
Kashmir issue during summit

Hurriyat Conference leaders on Saturday expressed satisfaction after their 25 minute closed-door meeting on Saturday evening with Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf.

The meeting took place at 1630 hours (IST) at Pakistan House before the 'High Tea' party hosted by Pakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi in honour of Gen Musharraf.

"Hum bahut khushguwar hai (We are overjoyed)," All Party Hurriyat Conference chairman Professor Abdul Gani Bhat and senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone gushed after the meeting.

"We feel General saab is a zabardast (fantastic) man and Vajpayee is also a fantastic man."

"The question is not whether we are close to him (Musharraf) or not. He is very intelligent and practical person. We are impressed with him and have staked our hopes on him. We are hopeful that he will do something for us."

"To meet him in spite of India's opposition is not a small matter. It pains us that the government wants to sideline us," they said.

Bhat led the six-member delegation of the Hurriyat Conference for the closed-door meeting with Gen Musharraf.

Speaking to rediff.com, they said, "The event is important because Kashmiris have now become important. We have not given anything in writing, but told him that it's important to solve the Kashmir issue now because India and Pakistan are both nuclear powers."

"If war breaks out because of Kashmir, nobody would survive," they cautioned.

Senior Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq said, "We are satisfied with the meeting. It was extremely good. We hope that in future some mechanism would evolve to involve the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the negotiations."

He denied giving any agenda to the Pakistani president suggesting ways and means of involving the people of Kashmir in the dialogue between India and Pakistan.

"The president was positive and said he would take up the Kashmir matter with Vajpayee on Sunday during the summit in Agra," he said.

"The General," according to the Mirwaiz, "listened to us attentively and sympathized with our cause. He assured us that the government of Pakistan would continue to support the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for a rightful solution."

A discordant note was set by the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), an important constituent of the Hurriyat, which boycotted the reception.

Torrential rains also sought to spoil the setting of the party forcing the guests, which included former chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh, to run for cover.

Interestingly, Sonia Gandhi who was supposed to attend the meet did not turn up.

Two hundred guests had been invited for the party, which concluded at 1830 hours. Gen Musharraf then drove down to Rashtrapati Bhavan to attend the banquet hosted by the President in his honour.

RELATED REPORTS
J&K figures in Musharraf's talks
We continue to support J&K struggle: Musharraf
No military solution to Kashmir: Musharraf
Pandit leader meets Musharraf, blames Pak for troubles

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report