Hurriyat invites India for talks

SRINAGAR (ONLINE) - Hurriyat Conference has asked New Delhi for a 'meaningful dialogue'. The move comes in wake of US President George W Bush's statement that it is high time to resolve the Kashmir issue. 'We invite the government of India for a meaningful dialogue as resolving Kashmir was in everybody's interest', Abdul Gani Bhat, spokesperson of the Mirwaiz Umer Farooq-led Hurriyat group, said at a seminar to commemorate the 18th death anniversary of late Mirwaiz Muhammad Farooq. In a departure from their past stand, the separatist has also invited pro-India parties to help solve the Kashmir problem. 'We have no problem if National Conference patron Dr Farooq Abdullah, People's Democratic Party patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed or Saifuddin Soz represent Kashmir', Bhat said. He, however, added that these leaders did not represent the sentiments of the people as they always fail to speak about rights violations. Without naming Syed Ali Geelani, Bhat said: 'The other Hurriyat Conference also represents the sentiments of the people, but they do not understand the dynamics of global changes'. In another significant development, Umer Farooq said those making a demand for total demilitarisation of Kashmir were living in an 'unrealistic world'. He said his group would make an important announcement on Wednesday (today), on the death anniversary of his father, late Mirwaiz, who was assassinated here on May 21.

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