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It's a 'big development,' says Hurriyat

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Reacting to the Union government's decision to withdraw the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat on Wednesday night said he was amused that a ceasfire that "never existed" had been withdrawn.

He, however, added that the government's initiative in inviting Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf for talks was a "big development," though he was surprised that the situation overnight had become "conducive for holding talks with Pakistan."

"Till this morning they were saying that cross-border terrorism must end and conducive atmosphere must be created for India-Pakistan talks. I don't know what happened overnight. This is a big change," the Hurriyat chairman said.

"Let us wait and watch. We will discuss the whole issue in our executive committee meeting soon. But let me tell you one thing, the core issue of Kashmir can be resolved only through tri-partite talks involving India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris," he added.

Senior National Conference leader G N Shaheen said his party had all along said that unconditional talks must be held with Pakistan. "We believe the hime has come to resolve the issue once and for all," he added.

Jammu and Kashmi Democratic Freedom Party chairman Shabir Shah, who had sent a two-member delegation to Delhi to hold talks with central interlocutor K C Pant, said the ceasefire had lost its meaning with political killings taking place in police custody.

"The Indian government has realised finally that this dispute cannot be resolved bilaterally. That is why they have invited Musharraf . I am sure Kashmiri representatives will also be involved in talks at a later stage."

In Delhi, former Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the government move to invite Mushrraf took him by surprise. "I hope when the two sides meet, they do not discuss how to restore their cricketing ties or the Indo-Pakistan trade relations. They should discuss only Kashmir. We are not aware of the circumstances in which the government has extended the invitation to General Musharraf. We hope by tomorrow things will become clearer," the Mirwaiz told rediff.com.

On the withdrawal of ceasefire, he said: "It (the ceasefire) never worked. In fact, in the last one month 13 custodial deaths had taken place in Kashmir. We don't know what political compulsions prompted the government to call off the ceasefire, but the common Kashmiri will not feel sad about it."

Asked what would be the fate of the prime minister's peace initiative through his interlocutor K C Pant, he said the letter the APHC got from Pant was inadequate. "Now that the government has invited Pakistan to hold talks, maybe Pant can send us another letter and we will think about it."

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah termed the invitation from Vajpayee to Musharraf as a "logical step in the peace process".

"This is the next logical step in the peace process initiated by the prime minister during Ramzan in November last year," Abdullah told PTI over the telephone from Srinagar.

He said after all it was between India and Pakistan to resolve the dispute.

"There is no role for any third party, be it a country or self-proclaimed representatives of people of Kashmir," Abdullah said in an apparent reference to the Hurriyat Conference.

He expressed the hope that Gen Musharraf will indulge in a meaningful dialogue and make efforts for resolution of the dispute.

The chief minister also hailed the Centre's decision to continue with K C Pant as interlocutor on Kashmir and gave a call to all such Kashmiri youths, who wanted to shun the path of violence to join the national mainstream.

Regretting the calling off of the ceasefire, Abdullah said, "We were forced to call it off as militants had increased attacks on civilians leading to more casualties."

"How long could the state or the Centre remain a mute spectator to this," he said.

The chief minister said the Centre had initiated the ceasefire "in good faith but unfortunately the militants continued with their subversive activities."

Giving another call to the Hurriyat and militants to join the peace process, Abdullah said, "My door and even windows are open for all those persons who think about the better future of Kashmir."

The Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashker-e-Tayiba cautioned Musharraf against accepting the invitation of Vajpayee, saying Islamabad "should not get into India's peace trap".

LeT spokesman Yahya Mujaheedeen said, "Pakistan should not get into the peace trap laid by India."

The Hizbul Mujahideen said the calling off of the cease-fire "is yet another farce as the six-month long cease-fire has not been seriously implemented in the past".

Hizbul spokesman Salim, however, did not comment on Vajpayee's invitation to Musharraf to visit Delhi for talks.

With inputs from Onkar Singh in Delhi and PTI

ALSO SEE:
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The Kashmir Cease-Fire: The Complete Coverage

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