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Pak revives demand for Hurriyat visit

Basharat Peer in New Delhi

After the failure of the Agra summit, Pakistan suddenly seems keen to dust off the cobwebs from its earlier request to India to allow the Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan.

The Foreign Minster of Pakistan Abdul Sattar said on Tuesday that Musharraf welcomed the opportunity to meet the Hurriyat leaders, and hoped that the India would accord them travel documents to visit Pakistan for consultations.

The statement assumes significance as it comes merely a day after the Agra summit ended 'inconclusively' - a term used by Pakistan.

Meanwhile, reacting to the outcome of the Agra summit the Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said that the end of the summit will mark the beginning of a more purposeful dialogue.

He believes that if Hurriyat is allowed to visit Pakistan it will be of great value and speed up the peace process.

"Our documents are pending with the Indian government. If the concerned authorities issue us passports, we will certainly go and talk to the Pakistan government, the leadership in Azad Kashmir and the militant leaders there," Bhat told rediff.com.

He added that the Hurriyat is ready to shuttle between India and Pakistan to expedite the peace process.

Bhat is also conscious of the fact that that the 'inconclusive' result of the summit might slow down the peace process.

He said, "The situation in South Asia is attaining alarming dimensions and the changes are taking place fast. If we do not act faster, we may be lost in the dust."

However, Bhat considers the Agra summit 'a psychological victory for Kashmiris'.

"The Agra summit was different from other Indo-Pak summits as for the first time one of the heads of state met the representatives of the people of Kashmir before the summit," he said.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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