ISLAMABAD, June 25: Meetings between top Pakistani officials and key leaders of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) are being planned on the sidelines of the Indo-Pakistan foreign secretary-level talks in New Delhi
this weekend, it is reliably learnt.
"The foreign secretary and members of his delegation are planning to meet all the top APHC leaders, including Shabbir Shah, Ali Shah Gilani, Mir Waiz and Yasin Malik," knowledgeable sources told Dawn on Friday.
Traditionally whenever high-profile delegations from Pakistan have gone to India, diplomatic or political, they have met the APHC leaders. President Gen Pervez Musharraf also met most of the APHC leadership during the Agra Summit in mid 2001.
The planned meetings assume significance at a time when the APHC stands divided. The fact that the foreign secretary is planning to meet all the Kashmiri leaders signals an attempt at its unification. There have been efforts by Pakistan to use its influence to get the two groups together.
The division in the APHC, since the beginning of this year, is viewed as a negative development for the Kashmiris political struggle in the policy circles in Islamabad. It is believed that irrespective of the role Pakistan played or not in its division, the unity of APHC is a necessity for the Kashmiri struggle to move ahead effectively.
Despite the division both the APHC groups have taken common positions on boycotting elections and rejecting the Indian suggestion of using passports as travel documents for the proposed Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service.
