NEW DELHI, Aug 9: Kashmir's All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) rejected on Monday New Delhi's proposal to hold talks with the group within the Indian constitution.
The so-called moderate faction of the APHC said that remarks by Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Sunday that he would meet the APHC's representatives within the "four walls of Indian constitution", were tantamount to breaking a promise.
"The unconditional talks have been made conditional by the home minister, which is not acceptable," the APHC said in a statement faxed from Srinagar. The APHC had last week suffered a shock when its senior breakaway leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani announced a new group with the support of Kashmir's Jamaat-i-Islami.
That move implied a rejection of recent unity efforts within the fractitious APHC. Mr Geelani's pro-freedom profile has rocketed high with Jamat-i-Islami extending support to his newly floated Tehreek-i-Hurriyat on Saturday.
Mr Patil's comments have added further complications to the cornered APHC. "Hurriyat rejects (Mr Patil's) statement and deems it against the spirit of dialogue, where international principles and laws are not taken into account," the APHC said.
"Conditional talks are unacceptable and impractical," it further said. "There would be no breakthrough in the talks unless the parties showed flexibility in their stands."
