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Hurriyat, JKDFP accept Kashmir Committee's invitation for talks

This is for the first time in the last 13 years since militancy erupted in the state that the Hurriyat has accepted an offer for talks with a non-governmental organisation.

The Kashmir Committee, headed by former Union law minister Ram Jethmalani, is trying to ensure maximum participation of various political outfits in the assembly elections.

The general council of the Hurriyat advised its seven-member executive committee to commence talks on the 'real issue of Kashmir'.

Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said the general council, in its four-hour-long meeting, gave its nod to accept the offer of talks, which should strictly be 'for a principle and on a principle'.

This means the Hurriyat will impress on the Kashmir panel the need for tripartite talks involving Pakistan, Bhat clarified.

Bhat said though Hurriyat has not yet received a formal invitation, "We have accepted the offer for talks. We will not shy away or run away from talks. We have to work for betterment of the people of India, Pakistan and Kashmir."

He said the Hurriyat had rejected a similar offer from government interlocutor K C Pant as he was nominated by the government, whereas Jethmalani is heading an NGO.

The JKDFP, which had tentatively accepted the talks offer at a meeting of the district presidents and secretaries of the party on Sunday, announced the formal acceptance of the offer after a meeting of its executive council on Monday.

"We welcome the unconditional offer for talks by New Delhi and urge the government to take steps for ensuring meaningfulness of these initiatives. The Kashmir Committee should visit Pakistan, and JKDFP representatives should also be allowed to visit Pakistan, to pave the way for resolving the Kashmir issue," its chief Shabir Ahmad Shah said in a statement after the meeting.

Urging the Centre not to ignore Pakistan while making efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue, Shah said Islamabad's participation was 'pivotal in any purposeful and durable talks or negotiations'.

He said the JKDFP also wanted the unconditional release of separatist leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mohammad Yasin Malik and Sheikh Abdul Aziz, all Hurriyat executive members.

In another resolution, Shah said the party made a fervent appeal to the separatist leadership of J&K to speak in a united voice.

The JKDFP also appealed to all the migrants to return to their respective homes.

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