A day after Governor Satya Pal Malik said that it was encouraging to see Hurriyat’s readiness for talks, the Hurriyat Conference (M) led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Sunday said the amalgam has always been in favour of talks “as the means of resolution.”
The Governor’s statement at the SKICC on the banks of famousDal Lake on Saturday had triggered a debate across the political spectrum ofthe J&K.
Governor Malik had stated that the Hurriyat leaders, who hadonce shut doors on Ram Vilas Paswan, when approached for dialogue, were “nowready for talks, which was an encouraging sign.”
The Governor had also praised Hurriyat (M) chairman forspeaking about the growing drug abuse in Kashmir and the need for dealing withthe menace.
In a statement issued to Greater Kashmir, a spokesman of theamalgam said the Hurriyat has always been in favour of talks as the means ofresolution. “We have not said anything (new), we have always been saying this,”the statement said.
“Kashmiris’ being the most affected party for the past 72years, naturally want its resolution. Since its inception when all parties cametogether under one umbrella, the Hurriyat has maintained and reiterated thatengagement and dialogue among stakeholders is the best and most peaceful meansof resolution of Kashmir issue and not force.”
The Hurriyat stated: “We have engaged with both India andPakistan in the past.” In 2016, Ram Vilas Paswan, who was part of the Centre’sall party delegation (APD), knocked at the door of Hurriyat Conference (G)chairman Syed Ali. However, the main entrance remained closed and the meetingdidn’t materialise.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, the New Delhi’s interlocutorDineshwar Sharma on Kashmir said if he (Governor) has stated something relatingto the dialogue and the Hurriyat, it is better to ask him only.
“I have nothing to say, let’s see what happens,” Sharma saidand refused to speak further. Sharma,the former director intelligence bureau, was appointed as an emissary by NewDelhi in October 2017, with a mandate of talking to all sections of society.
After his appointment, Sharma, however, succeeded to meetHurriyat (M’s) senior leader Professor AbulGaniBhat and when asked about themeeting he had stated that “some things shouldn’t be made public in the nationalinterest.” Prof Bhat on the other hand, had neither confirmed nor denied hismeeting Sharma.
Sharma was in Kashmir in November 2017 and he travelled toSouth Kashmir districts and also met a few groups of youth. The then separatistleadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad YasinMalik had turned down the Centre’s invitation for dialogue stating that”bloodshed, killings, arrest and talks can’t go together.”