Search the Internet          Tips

EU diplomats meet Farooq Abdullah, Hurriyat leaders

The delegation, which is on a five-day visit to the state, had an hour-long meeting with Abdullah on Tuesday night during which the chief minister gave an account of the human tragedy and the colossal damage caused to the infrastructure in the state in the wake of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Abdullah told them cross-border terrorism has retarded the pace of development in the state.

The delegation also met CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami.

After meeting the delegation, Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said the delegation was told that the "resolution of the Kashmir issue is the key to the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan and peace in the sub-continent."

"We told them that we are ready for elections if held under UN supervision or international observers," Bhat said.

"We told the delegation that the Hurriyat condemns acts like the killing of Amarnath pilgrims and demands an impartial investigation into all such incidents" by an international agency to punish the guilty, Bhat said.

He said the Hurriyat also raised the issue of alleged human rights violations and the fate of detainees.

Members of the Hurriyat executive Moulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari (Ithad-ul-Muslimeen), Khalil Mohammad Khalid (Peoples League), Javid Ahmad Mir (JKLF), A M Sheikh (Jamaat-e-Islami) and Bilal Lone (Peoples Conference) were also present at the meeting.

"We are here on an assessment tour," delegation leader Michel Stenberg of Denmark told reporters at the end of a two-and-a-half hour-long meeting with Hurriyat leaders at its headquarters in Srinagar on Wednesday.

Besides Stenberg, Estatos Lozos (Greece), Itala Qcchi (Italy), Signi Ropika (Denmark) and Michel Caillite (France), who heads the European Union's mission in New Delhi, were part of the delegation.

More reports on Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report