NEW DELHI: indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he had been receiving “certain type of feelers” from the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference and was more than willing to talk to them as well as all sections of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir.

In response to a question whether the proposed talks with the Kashmiri leaders had been put on hold, Dr Singh said that “I repeat publicly that our doors are open for discussions with all segments of public opinion in Jammu and Kashmir, including those who represent the political process and also those who are outside the political process.”

The Prime Minister refused to react to a question about President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s seeming preoccupation with the issue of Kashmir after his return from India. He said that he was only aware that both he and President Musharraf had signed a joint statement, “and I believe that the intention is to ensure that the peace process is truly made irreversible.”

On whether the Pakistan leader has had a change of heart again after the meetings in New Delhi, he said: “I am not good at reading hearts.” The Prime Minister also rejected BJP claims that the government had tried to prevent President Musharraf from meeting former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as completely false. He vehemently denied the allegation.—By arrangement with AsianAge/Delhi