SRINAGAR, June 25: Moderate members of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference said on Saturday they were ready to reopen a stalled dialogue with India on the disputed region’s future as hardliners branded such an exercise as “meaningless.”
“We have held meaningful talks with Pakistan. We are ready to reopen talks with New Delhi,” said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, head of the APHC.
The call to renew the dialogue aimed at helping resolve the future of Kashmir follows the return of Kashmiri leaders from groundbreaking talks in Pakistan earlier this month.
The trip was part of a wider peace process between India and Pakistan.
The moderates held two rounds of talks with New Delhi early last year but sought to travel to Pakistan before resuming discussions.
Mr Farooq and eight other moderate leaders travelled to Pakistan for the first-ever talks with the Pakistani government and politicians of Azad Kashmir.
“We have already conveyed to New Delhi through informal channels that we are ready to take the peace process forward,” said Mr Farooq.
“It’s now up to New Delhi to decide,” said Mr Farooq, who is also head of the region’s main mosque, the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.
But hardliners said they opposed talks with the Indian government.
“Those who are begging for a dialogue with India are doing a disservice to the cause and dignity of Kashmiris,” Syed Ali Geelani, who heads the hardline faction of Hurriyat, said.
“Our people are giving large sacrifices. They (moderates) are insulting those sacrifices by knocking at the doors of New Delhi,” said Mr Geelani.
He said the holding of talks would be “meaningless until India declares Kashmir a disputed territory, stops human rights violations and frees political prisoners.”
Geelani wants tripartite talks involving India, Pakistan and the “true representatives” of Kashmiris or implementation of decades-old UN Security Council resolutions calling for a plebiscite in the region on its future.—AFP
