SRINAGAR, Aug 12: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Monday gave its leaders the go-ahead to start the process of dialogue with the Indian government.

The first step, APHC chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said at a press conference, would be to accept an invitation — yet to be received — by a private committee trying to facilitate dialogue between New Delhi and the Kashmiris.

The APHC general council, at a special meeting here, also made a final decision not to take part in elections next month, but stopped short of issuing a call for a general boycott of the poll.

“As far as the elections are concerned, that chapter is over for us,” Bhat told the press conference here. “We will not contest the polls, and people know what that means.”

He added that the general council had advised the APHC’s seven-member executive council to start talking with the Kashmir dialogue committee, headed by former Indian law minister Ram Jethmalani, “on a principle and for a principle”.

“The principle is that the talks should be tripartite (involving India, Kashmiris and Pakistan), not about participation in the elections, and should produce results,” Bhat said.

“And we should also work for the betterment of the people of Kashmir, India and Pakistan.”

He said the APHC had yet to receive an invitation by the Kashmir committee, even though Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani had authorized the committee to begin talks with them on “relevant issues”.

“We will not shy away from the talks. We want to talk to get this issue resolved forever,” Bhat said.

He said the Hurriyat was willing to talk to the Kashmir committee as it was “formed by the people of India, and not by the government”.

“We didn’t talk to K.C. Pant because he was nominated by the government,” he said, referring to a pointman nominated by New Delhi last year to hold talks with the APHC and other Kashmiri leaders.

Jethmalani’s committee includes prominent Indian academics.—AFP