MESSAGE BOARD NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
"The conglomerate is ready to contest polls under international supervision to prove its representative character and to clear misunderstandings of those doubting its following," senior executive member, Abdul Ghani Lone, told workers of his People's Conference at Batmaloo in Srinagar on Wednesday.
Referring to government emissary K C Pant's statement that the Hurriyat was not a representative body of the people of Kashmir, Lone said, "The Hurriyat has become a symbol of the feelings and sentiments of Kashmiris."
Pant needed a lot of time in knowing and understanding the Kashmir issue, he said, adding that he would get nothing by criticising the Hurriyat.
He said, "The Hurriyat is a single political forum which does not accept the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India."
Referring to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement that the Hurriyat should talk to Pant first, Lone said, "The Hurriyat is ready to hold talks with the leadership of India and Pakistan on Kashmir, but the condition to have a meeting with Pant first is not acceptable to us."
Flaying External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh for his statement that the government would not allow Hurriyat leaders to meet Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf during his visit to India, he said, "This is unethical."
Lone said Hurriyat leaders had a three-hour luncheon meeting with the then President of Pakistan, Farooq Leghari in the Pakistani embassy during his New Delhi visit.
Tell us what you think of this report
