NEW DELHI, Sept 1: The head of a committee which is trying to persuade Kashmiri leaders to take part in upcoming elections on Sunday accused Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani of trying to derail his efforts.

Ram Jethmalani, the head of the Kashmir Committee, which is backed by the Indian government, described Advani’s refusal to meet moderate Kashmiri leader Shabir Shah during a visit to New Delhi last week as “discouraging.”

“It was a move which may have the consequence of derailing the peace process,” Jethmalani was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Shah, who heads the Democratic Freedom Party, was in New Delhi last week for talks with the committee, which is trying to get the Kashmiri leaders to take part in the elections to be held in four phases from Sept 16.

The meeting in New Delhi followed an earlier round of talks held in Srinagar in August, with Shah and the APHC.

Since it was set up in 1993, the Hurriyat has boycotted all elections held in occupied Kashmir.

On Friday the Hurriyat kicked off a campaign to boycott the polls, but one leader offered an unconditional dialogue with India to resolve the dispute.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a former Hurriyat chairman, told a gathering that the leaders were ready to take part in “any polls linked to the resolution of the Kashmir issue.”

“We are not against the principle of elections but we will never become a part of polls which just elect (state) governments,” Farooq said. On Sunday, Jethmalani accused New Delhi of refusing a dialogue with the Hurriyat, after issuing it an invitation for talks last year.

“Obviously this kind of attitude is intended to derail the excellent work that is being done (by the Kashmir Committee).

“It is a matter of great satisfaction that the desired effect of derailment has not taken place,” Jethmalani, a former federal law minister, was quoted as telling PTI.

“With the Hurriyat expressing their willingness to participate in the elections, New Delhi should show eagerness to talk to them,” the former law minister added.—AFP