The Hindu : National : Sajjad Lone attacks Hurriyat, Delhi

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Sunday, May 23, 2004

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National

Sajjad Lone attacks Hurriyat, Delhi

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, MAY 22. In a dramatic turn of events, the People's Conference (PC) chairman, Sajjad Gani Lone, today made frontal attacks on New Delhi and the Hurriyat Conference (Abbas), accusing them of not being sincere towards Kashmiris and, at the same time, asserting that he was not against Pakistan, saluting its people's sacrifices for the Kashmiri cause.

A day after the Hurriyat observed the death anniversary of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, Mr. Sajjad Lone organised a massive rally here. The PC's another faction is led by his brother, Bilal Lone, who is a member of the Hurriyat Conference. Mr. Sajjad Lone said that violence had no place and only a dialogue would lead to a peaceful and amicable settlement of the Kashmir issue.

Notwithstanding his repeated assertions that his party was not averse to a dialogue process, Mr. Sajjad Lone targeted New Delhi and said: "India cannot be trusted. My father [Abdul Gani Lone] realised it after his 40 years experience with India but I have come to this conclusion after two years only," he said. "Our elders also used to say that India is not trustworthy and that is true."

In a veiled reference, he said the Government of India was after him. "Only my God knows what the GOI has been doing with me for the last three months. If I am alive it is only because of Almighty's blessings and my mother's prayers. But I want to tell them that whatever they want to do they will not succeed as my people are with me," he said.

Making scathing attacks on the Hurriyat and its leadership, he said: "We have two Hurriyat Conference, one being patronised by India and another [of Syed Ali Geelani] by Pakistan. We do not accept either."

Referring to yesterday's public meeting, he said the GOI managed to put forth exaggerated figures through a TV channel just to tell the world that "everyone in Kashmir was with the Abbas-led Hurriyat. They are in the lap of GOI and when my father used to talk for dialogue he was dubbed anti- movement." Mr. Sajjad Lone said: "New Delhi is talking to stooges."

He accused the Hurriyat leaders, particularly its former chairman, Abdul Gani Bhat, of talking as an election campaigner for the BJP. "My father was moderate and was against violence. He was always for a dialogue and I also favour a dialogue," he said. "We should not be an impediment and should not allow anybody else to be an impediment."

Stating that he was not against Pakistan, he asked: "How can a Muslim be against a Muslim country. I can have differences with the policies of the Pakistan Government but I want to salute the people of Pakistan who have made sacrifices for the cause of Kashmiris." He announced that besides major cities in India, the People's Conference would organise seminars in Lahore, Karachi [Pakistan], Muzaffarabad, Rawlakot, Mirpur and Gilgit [in PoK] next year to evolve a consensus on the Kashmir issue.

Mr. Sajjad Lone welcomed the peace talks between India and Pakistan as also the confidence-building measures including the opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road which, he said, "would be psychological unification of people in two parts of Kashmir." He appealed to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to allow the younger generation of leaders to talk with one another to find an amicable solution to the Kashmir problem.

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