Geelani opens doors to Sinha-led peace attempt

SRINAGAR: A five-member delegation led by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha met Kashmiri separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in Srinagar on Tuesday in an effort to find a solution to the state’s three-month unrest.

The Hurriyat Conference hardline group leader, Geelani, allowed the delegation inside his home in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area. But the media was kept out. The 87-year-old is under house arrest.

The meeting lasted more than an hour and“in a cordial atmosphere ”.

“The aim is to share the pain and sufferings of the people. If we can do that, we will consider ourselves fortunate,” Sinha said.

The delegation, which is on a three-day visit to the Jammu and Kashmir summer capital, met the Mirwaiz, the Valley chief cleric and Hurriyat Conference moderate group chairman, later in the day.

“They understood our point of view,” he said afterwards.

The available option for peace is to either implement the UN resolution on Kashmir or start tripartite talks with Pakistan and Kashmiris, he said.

The Mirwaiz said the decision to meet the team was taken after consulting Geelani, underscoring that it’s not an official delegation.

For his part, Geelani demanded release of all youth and separatist leaders “so that a common and collective point of view can be put forward after consultation”.

The team is expected to meet JKLF leader Yasin Malik too.

Former Union minister Sinha told reporters before his meeting with Geelani that the delegation was “not official” and its members were there in their personal capacity to assess the situation in the Valley after killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

At least 90 people have died and hundreds were wounded in the unrelenting public protests after Wani’s death.

Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik have been jointly issuing weekly protest programmes ever since the unrest started in the Valley.

Sinha’s party distanced itself from the delegation, saying the BJP has nothing to do with it.

The team comprises Wajahat Habibullah, the former chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities, former air vicemarshal Kapil Kak, journalist Bharat Bhushan, and Sushobha Barve, the executive director of the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation.

“Besides separatists, we are meeting a cross-section of Kashmiri people to understand their difficulties,” Habibullah said. “We are not in conflict or competition with anyone we just want to contribute to contribute to peace.”

(With inputs from New Delhi)