The Hindu : Centre invites Hurriyat for talks on January 22

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 14, 2004

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Centre invites Hurriyat for talks on January 22

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 13. To give fillip to the peace efforts concerning Jammu and Kashmir, the Government today invited the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for talks with the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, here on January 22.

The formal invitation was extended to the Hurriyat faction led by the moderate Maulana Abbas Ansari, official sources said here.

The invitation said that "pursuant to the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on October 22, the Deputy Prime Minister would like to meet you on January 22.''

The Centre's invitation to the Hurriyat comes close on the heels of a thaw in India-Pakistan relations and a successful SAARC summit which concluded last week in Islamabad.

Sources said the Government would be "open'' to the approach of the Hurriyat if it wanted to have a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Advani or would also like officials like the Union Home Secretary, N. Gopalaswami, and the Centre's interlocutor on Kashmir, N.N. Vohra, to meet them. It was also not clear as to how many Hurriyat leaders would like to visit the North Block for a meeting with Mr. Advani. It would be their highest level of contact in the Government ever since the CCS authorised the Deputy Prime Minister to talk to the Hurriyat. The Government is keen not to evolve either a rigid or "too bureaucratic approach'' towards proposed talks with the Hurriyat, the sources said here.

Over the past few months, the Hurriyat too has suffered setbacks as another faction of the separatist amalgam was formed under the leadership of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the Jamat-e-Islami walking out of it.

On the other hand, the Centre too was busy formulating its strategy and working out modalities for talks with the Hurriyat. A subcommittee of top bureaucrats from the Prime Minister's Office, the Home Ministry and the Intelligence Bureau was formed for the purpose. It met as recently as last week amid indications that the invitation to the Hurriyat would be sent out soon though the air was thick with the debate on early Lok Sabha polls.

Kashmir observers opine that the Vajpayee Government appears keen to demonstrate its commitment and sincerity in working out a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Kashmir problem and restoring peace in the strife-torn valley.

The "peace initiative'' gathered momentum when the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, addressed a public rally in April last in Srinagar and offered the hand of friendship to Pakistan.

In August-end, Mr. Vajpayee, Mr. Advani and a number of Chief Ministers gathered for a two-day inter-State meeting in Srinagar and the decision to have talks with the Hurriyat came two months later. Also, the Congress-PDP Government in the State, led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, impressed upon the Centre on the need to talk to the Hurriyat.

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