ISLAMABAD, 4 January 2006 — All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said he did not and would not accept the Line of Control (LOC) as a permanent border between the two parts of Kashmir.

Umar Farooq, currently on a visit to Pakistan, arrived in Islamabad yesterday from Lahore on his way to Azad Kashmir.

Talking to newsmen here he said: “If the world powers advocate status quo on the issue of LOC they are mistaken. The will of the people of Kashmir to unite is unbeatable.”

Umar Farooq is accompanied by other Kashmiri leaders including Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Ghani Lone.

He regretted that despite normalization of relations between Pakistan and India, Kashmiris remain the sufferers. “Despite the thaw in Indo-Pak relations it took me so long to reach here to participate in the rehabilitation work,” he said. He said though India and Pakistan had opened five border crossings the people of Kashmir faced numerous difficulties in meeting each other.

The APHC delegation is here on a six-day visit during which the members will meet the leaders of Azad Kashmir.

“The main objective of our visit is to express solidarity with the people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan who have suffered a lot following the Oct. 8 earthquake,” he said.

He said the APHC favored people-to-people contacts.

Umar Farooq said he would hold talks with the leaders of Azad Kashmir including Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, prime minister of Azad Kashmir, Chaudhry Sultan Mahmud, leader of the opposition in Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly and other leaders.

Umar Farooq later traveled to Azad Kashmir. He was greeted at Kohala Bridge by a large number of people raising slogans in favor of freedom.

At the prime minister’s house Umar Farooq and other APHC leaders attended a luncheon hosted in their honor.

Sources close to the prime minister told Arab News on telephone from Muzaffarabad that a formal meeting between the APHC leaders and President of Azad Kashmir Maj. Gen. (Retired) Muhammad Anwar Khan and Prime Minister Sikandar Hayat is scheduled on Jan 6. Issues related to the relief and rehabilitation of quake survivors and help from Kashmiris on the Indian side are likely to figure at the meeting.

Sultan Mahmud will also meet with the APHC leaders on Jan. 6.