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'Prophets of doom' to blame: Bhat

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, chairman of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, has blamed the 'prophets of doom' for the breakdown of talks between India and Pakistan at Agra.

"The talks have ended in a deadlock and this is unfortunate. The prophets of doom have won the first round," Bhat told rediff.com on telephone from his residence in Srinagar on Tuesday morning.

He refused to blame either India or Pakistan for the failure of the summit.

On Monday, Prof Bhat had told rediff.com that if the talks broke down at Agra, he would blame the "babus on both sides".

"I believe the babus have done their work of sabotaging the talks," Bhat said on Tuesday.

He regretted that India and Pakistan had lost a golden opportunity. "It is the people of Kashmir who will pay for this," he said.

Bhat, however, added that he was an eternal optimist and hoped that the process of dialogue between the two countries, which began at the instance of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, would continue.

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, former chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, also expressed his regret at the breakdown of the talks.

"It is sad that the talks have gone the way we expected. The entire valley was glued to the television sets and watching every single move with great expectation."

"The people of Kashmir are disappointed. I hope the two countries would soon resume the dialogue," the mirwaiz had told rediff.com on Monday before leaving for Srinagar when first reports came in that the talks were heading for a deadlock.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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