Hurriyat: Ready to talk if Centre speaks in one voice
Statements in the last few days from different people at the helm of affairs in New Delhi are unclear and ambiguous JOINT RESISTANCE LEADERSHIP
SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) in Jammu & Kashmir has, for the first time, responded to the offer of talks by Union home minister Rajnath Singh, seeking clarity on the offer and suggested it is ready to join the process once the central government “speaks in one voice”. It also suggested that the talks include Pakistan.
“Let the Government of India give clarity on what it wants to talk about and speak in one voice. We are ready to join the process,’’ said JRL in a statement released after a marathon meeting at the Hyderpora residence of Syed Ali Geelani. Hurriyat chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik were also present in the meeting.
JRL said it is important to have transparency in such a process and also an assurance from all sides that promises and pledges will be honoured. “Talks that are so held keeping in view the concerns and needs of stakeholders, especially the most affected party, to the satisfaction of all will surely be successful and result oriented and any effort that Government of India makes in this direction will find takers in Kashmir and Pakistan,’’ the JRL statement added.
On Saturday, Rajnath Singh had said that the central government was ready to hold talks with the All Party Hurriyat Conference (a grouping of 26 parties) if its leadership came forward. This is the first time in the recent past that separatist leadership has not set up any precondition for the start of dialogue with the Centre.
“The statements regarding talks in the last few days from different people at the helm of affairs in New Delhi are unclear and ambiguous,’’ the leadership said, adding that while Rajnath Singh said that there should be dialogue with both Kashmir and Pakistan, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had said that there could be no talks with Pakistan unless terror attacks against India are stopped.
The leadership further said that while BJP president Amit Shah said the current cessation of operations is for people, not militants, J&K’S director general of police issued a statement that it’s for militants to come back home. “The ambiguity leaves little room to consider the talk about talks seriously with a purpose or warrant a response.’’
The separatist leadership said that these statements came a few days after PM Narendra Modi had said the panacea to the Kashmir problem is “development’’ and peace is a prerequisite for that to happen. It said that the statement seemed to put the onus of bringing peace on the people and absolved the government of India of all role and responsibility in the matter.
“The people of J&K are at the receiving end of this 70-year-old conflict and worst affected. We are most keen to see end to it,” the statement said.