NEW DELHI, 29 March 2004 — Breaking new ground in an attempt to resolve Indo-Pak differences over Kashmir issue, Hurriyat leaders met a seven-member delegation of parliamentarians from Pakistan for the first time yesterday. Organized by the Kashmir committee, the meeting is viewed as one of its attempts to untangle deadlocks over the Kashmir issue. The meeting was held at Kashmir committee chairman Ram Jethamalini’s residence.
The three-hour long discussion and deliberations over several issues were held in a “good atmosphere,” sources said.
With the luncheon meeting being the first of its kind between Pakistani delegation and Hurriyat leaders, it primarily contributed to members getting to know each other, sources said.
Describing it as a good interaction with Pakistani delegation, Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq said, “We put across our point of view to them. The ongoing dialogue process with the government of India and the present situation in Jammu and Kashmir came up for discussion.”
Hurriyat leaders were represented by the four who held talks with Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani on Saturday — Moulvi Abbas Ansari, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq (Awami Action Committee), Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat (Muslim Conference) and Bilal Ghani Lone (Peoples Conference) — and a few other members of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
The high level Pakistan People’s Party delegation led by its Vice Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim included Yousaf Talpur MNA, Fozia Habib MNA, former Foreign Minister Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali, Chaudhry Manzoor MNA and Nafees Siddiqui. They arrived in India on Saturday evening at the invitation of Nirmala Deshpande, a prominent Indo-Pak peace activist, on a goodwill mission with Kashmir on their agenda. Focusing on people-to-people agenda, their visit is said to be taking place at the direction of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto.
The Kashmir Committee was represented by Ram Jethmalini, Shanti Bhushan and Dilip Padgaonkar among others.
The Pakistani delegation’s five-day India visit includes meetings with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and CPI leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet.
The Pakistan delegation will also participate in various peace forums organized by Surjeet.
Explaining the purpose of their India-visit, Manzoor said, “During our meetings with Vajpayee, Mishra and other Indian leaders we will convey our party’s position on the Indo-Pak peace process and would underline the need for greater people-to-people interaction.”
Talks Between Kashmiris, New Delhi ‘Milestone’ on Road to Peace
Indian analysts said yesterday the latest talks between Kashmiri separatists and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani aimed at ending militancy in Kashmir marked a “milestone” on the road to peace but not a decisive turning point.
Advani and leaders of the moderate wing of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a coalition of Kashmiri separatist groups, held closed-door discussions in New Delhi Saturday, their second round since January.
Both sides emerged smiling from the meeting, which is part of a precedent-setting dialogue to halt the deadly conflict in Kashmir that has claimed thousands of lives since 1989. “We’re going forward and not backward and there is a change in thought and attitude at the ground level,” Abdul Ghani Bhatt, spokesman for the moderates, said after the talks.
Analyst Pran Chopra said yesterday the latest meeting had to be seen as a “milestone on the road to finding peace”, rather than a decisive turning point.
“The key points that emerged from the meeting are Advani’s assurances on human rights and political prisoners,” he said.
The separatists said Saturday the talks had reviewed progress on curbing alleged human rights abuses by Indian troops deployed in Kashmir.
Advani said he had given orders that security forces “must have a human face” while discharging their duties in the heavily militarized region and “try to see that ordinary citizens are not subjected to any harassment.”
