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Safe zones will not solve problems: Geelani

SRINAGAR: Chairman of the hard line faction of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani has said that Kashmiri Pandits were welcome to return to the Valley, but the creation of safe zones or a separate homeland was no solution to their problems.

Mr. Geelani, who is now in Jammu, told The Hindu over phone that the Pandits were part of the Kashmiri ethos. They should come and live here like other residents.

The creation of the so called safe zones for them or their demand for a separate homeland would further widen the gap between the two communities.Mr. Geelani expressed dismay at the statements of some Pandit leaders, which were unnecessary and baseless.

“I would request my brethren not to rub salt on our wounds by indulging in mudslinging,” he said.

On the ongoing dialogue process between India and Pakistan, he said it would not yield any result until the people of Jammu and Kashmir were taken into confidence. “Any decision between India and Pakistan is not acceptable to the people of the State,” he said.

What had to be taken into account was the aspirations of the common masses.

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Safe zones will not solve problems: Geelani

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