Signals from Pak to Hurriyat: Avoid talks
PranabDhalSamanta : New Delhi, Mon Jan 28 2013, 00:54 hrs
The Hurriyat leaders have
come back from Pakistan with "advice" from the Pak Army to not start any
direct negotiations with the Indian government for at least another
year, signalling the onset of a season of mixed signals from across the
border.
The seven-member delegation of Kashmiri separatist leaders led by
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference,
had detailed discussions on this with both Pakistani Army Chief Gen
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as well as ISI DG Lt Gen Zahir-ul-Islam during
their visit last month.
It's learnt that the Kashmiri separatists pushed for a role in
the ongoing talks between the two countries, urging the Pakistan Army to
go back to former Pakistan president Gen Pervez Musharraf's four-point
formula. However, sources said, neither Kayani nor his ISI chief were
enthused by the suggestion and while they were supportive of the current
dialogue process, there was no indication of how they intended to
proceed on the Kashmir issue.
At one point, the separatist leaders brought up the feelers
coming from New Delhi to start talks with these Kashmiri groups within a
domestic framework. The advice on this was in the negative.
The message was clear that Rawalpindi did not see this as an
opportune time for investing energy on Kashmir, especially because a lot
is expected this year in both domestic politics and on the Af-Pak front
as US troops plan their withdrawal from the region.
The delegation also met LeT's Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Hizbul
Mujahideen's Syed Salahuddin, both wanted for terror attacks in India.
Saeed is said to have made it clear that use of violence was the only
way to resolve the Kashmir issue. However, sources said, they too gave
the impression of "lying low" this yearhttp://www.i
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