Separatists reject Opposition MPs’ talks bid

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D. Raja wait outside the door of Hurriyat Confrence chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who refused to open the door to the MPs’ team in Srinagar. (Photo: PTI)

The Kashmiri separatist leaders on Sunday refused to talk to five Opposition members of the all-party delegation, saying no such engagement was possible in the prevailing circumstances and it was time for them and others to “read the writing on the wall” instead of wasting it over “pointless exercises”.

The 26-member delegation headed by Union home minister Rajnath Singh arrived here on a two-day visit earlier Sunday to meet and hold talks with individuals and political and other groups in an attempt to reach out to the people of the Valley, which has been caught in one of its worst crises of many years in the aftermath of the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani eight weeks ago.

As the government had indicated that members of the delegation would be free to meet any leader or person or groups “including separatists”, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, the RJD’s Jay Prakash Narayan and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi broke away from the group in the afternoon, and after splitting into three groups, went to meet key separatist leaders in an attempt to break some ice, but found them too cold.

While Syed Ali Shah Geelani turned the MPs away from the entrance of his besieged Hyderpora residence, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Prof. Abdul Gani Butt and Shabir Ahmed Shah met them briefly but refused to talk on Kashmir or the prevailing situation.

The three MPs — Mr Yechury, Mr Raja and Mr Yadav — were greeted with slogans outside Mr Geelani’s residence, whose gate was not opened for them. The octogenarian leader, who has been under house arrest for months, saw them from the window but refused to meet them. Mr Yadav, when asked about it, said: “It is our effort to show that we are ready to talk to anyone, whether they agree to meet us or not.”

Witnesses said that the MPs waited for 8-10 minutes outside Mr Geelani’s door, but in vain. Mr Yechury said: “We had come to hold talks and listen to his viewpoint. But he didn’t open the door.” He added: “Only through talks we can move forward.” The MPs said it was an effort to reach out to separatists in their personal capacity. Before going to meet Mr Geelani and others, they said: “Let the Hurriyat reject us, but we must try.”

The group earlier also went to meet Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik at a police mess at Humama near Srinagar airport, where he was shifted from Central Jail here ahead of the delegation’s visit. But he too refused to talk to the Mps. He is said to have told the MPs that they should “see the situation outside”. He asked Mr Yadav: “What can we talk about when the Indian home minister has categorically said the talks have to be held within the ambit of the Indian Constitution ”

A JKLF spokesman said the MPs were taken directly to the room in which its leader, Mr Malik, has been lodged. “But he refused to meet and talk to the MPs and told them they were part of a larger delegation headed by the Indian home minister, who before coming to Kashmir categorically said the delegation will meet and talk to people under the purview of the Indian Constitution,” the spokesman said. Mr Malik told the Opposition MPs: “Our stated policy is that we will not talk to anyone under the Indian Constitution.”

The group then tried to meet former Hurriyat chief Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, who told them: “In deference to the collective decision, we may not be talking to you. We do feel for you but we can’t help it.” Mr Bhat said: “We gave them the respect they deserved but we did not talk to them.” He also said the delegation’s visit was a “futile exercise”.

Mr Owaisi, after coming out of the sub-jail at Chashmashahi in the foothills of Zabarwan, where the Mirwaiz has been lodged for the past 10 days, said he had refused to meet him. The AIMM leader was accompanied by anther MP, but he entered the sub-jail alone. Within minutes, he came out and told reporters the Mirwaiz had told him the “resistance leadership” has decided against meeting them in “such a situation”. A Mirwaiz aide later said the cleric-politician, while shaking hands with Mr Owaisi, told him: “I can’t talk to you, either on the Kashmir issue or the present situation in the Valley.”

Later in the evening, Mr Yechury, Mr Raja and Mr Yadav went to meet the Mirwaiz. Mr Yechury said they had a conversation that lasted 15-20 minutes, but since the separatist leaders had taken a decision, nothing tangible was discussed. He, however, was optimistic that “something positive happening”. He said: “Our signal to the people of Kashmir is that we have come here to share their pain. We have gone out of our way to meet the Hurriyat leaders.” Mr Yadav added: “We are with the people of Kashmir and want peace to prevail. We are ready to talk without any conditions to all the stakeholders.”

Mr Owaisi also went to meet another separatist leader, Shabir Ahmed Shah, who was earlier shifted to Chashmashahi from Srinagar’s Raj Bagh police station. He said while the Mirwaiz was “very upset about the whole situation”, he had a slightly longer conversation with Mr Shah. Reports said Mr Shah had also, while briefly speaking to Mr Owaisi and separately to other Opposition leaders, ruled out the possibility of talks within the ambit of the Indian Constitution.