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Govt willing to consider 'legitimate' demands of Shah

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The government is willing consider all demands, except those endangering national security, of the separatist leader Shabir Shah, a top Ministry of Home Affairs official told rediff.com on Saturday.

"Take, for instance, the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party leader's demand that jailed Kashmiris should be released before the assembly election in the state. Some of them have been instrumental in the killing of innocent people and their release can again instigate similar horrifying incidents," he said.

Asked to clarify 'jailed Kashmiris', the official said, "Syed Ali Shah Geelani [senior Hurriyat Conference leader] for instance."

"That man [Geelani] calls himself a Pakistani and takes pride in railing against India and the government. That is why he and his tribe have been incarcerated and their release before the J&K poll is wishful thinking," he said.

When reminded that the chairman of the Kashmir Committee, former Union law minister Ram Jethmalani favoured certain concessions to leaders like Shabir Shah, the official said "Let Mr Jethmalani do his job. We will do ours."

He was also critical about the 'one-sided' demand for accountability of the security forces involved in anti-insurgency operations.

"What do these people want? Should our security forces fold their hands and watch in silence as Pakistan-inspired terrorists wreak havoc in Kashmir?" he asked.

On the issue of foreign observers for the J&K poll, he said, "There is no question of anybody getting the [foreign] observer status as that would mean third party intervention. We have already said that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral problem between India and Pakistan."

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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