SRINAGAR: Amid strong opposition from Indian government, top separatist leaders called on the Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
Chairman of Hurriyat Conference G Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday met with the Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi and termed the Indias move of calling off talks with Pakistan as childish.
After meeting with the envoy, JKLF Chief Yasin Malik said, “All the previous prime ministers used to facilitate our meetings with the Pakistani leadership. Were all them wrong and only Mr. Modi is right on Kashmir?” Yasin wondered while talking to Kashmir-based reporters over phone.
The spokesman of the Geelani-led amalgam, Ayaz Akbar, said that the meeting between Geelani and Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit had one and half hour meeting. During the meeting, Geelani hailed Pakistans move of inviting Kashmir leaders, he said, adding, on the occasion Pakistan publicly accepted Kashmir one of the parties of the dispute.
On the cancellation of Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan, Geelani, according to amalgams spokesman, said: It is childish act on the part of India as well as disappointing. India is acting in arrogance of power.
Akbar said the Pakistan High Commissioner conveyed to them that they were surprised over Indias move.
Geelani told High Commissioner that though Pakistans Kashmir policy has been apologetic from last few years but this is a bold step and Kashmiris hail it. He congratulated Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.This has proved that Pakistan accepts Kashmir as a party of the dispute and India should also follow the path of Pakistan, the Hurriyat spokesman informed, adding: Geelani also told them that unless Kashmiris aren’t included into talks, they wont be result oriented.
The Hurriyat spokesman said that the upcoming Assembly polls in the state were also discussed. Geelani told him that it doesn’t bother us whether PDP or NC comes into power. He told him that they are all same and basically it was Indias Home Ministry which was at the helm of affairs. He also conveyed to him that they had called for boycott of polls, Akbar said.
To some extent, the Pakistan High Commissioner agreed with Geelanis views, he said.
Sharing details of his meeting with the Pakistani ambassador, JKLF Chief Yasin Malik said that Kashmirs pro-freedom camp has been meeting Pakistan from the last 24 years and hence it not the novel one.
Leaders had been meeting Pakistans leadership during the time of VP Singh and all the time GOI used to facilitate their meet. Does this mean that all the previous prime ministers were wrong and only Mr. Modi is right.
Before Agra summit, Kashmiri leaders met with Musharaf and GOI felicitated the meeting. At the time of Ramzan ceasefire, the government even wanted separatist leaders to meet the militant leadership in Pakistan. The present move by Modi government reveals that it was not sincere in Kashmir resolution and had adopted the hard-line approach, Malik said over phone from Delhi.
Meanwhile, JKLF spokesman said that the JKLF chief after meeting Pak High commissioner was not allowed by the police to talk to press that was waiting outside the Pak embassy to get the comments of Yasin Malik over his meeting.
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