Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday said that talks with separatist Hurriyat Conference are not possible unless it keeps Pakistan out of the issue.

“I’ve been meeting people from all shades of opinion. I recently had had discussions with Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami. I meet everyone. As far as Hurriyat (conference) is concerned they without asking Pakistan don’t go even to toilet.  There will be no talks with them till they keep Pakistan out of it,” he said while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official function here.

The governor said that it was for the (Central) government to talk and he was only trying to prepare ground for it. “It is for the government to talk. My job is to make atmosphere conducive for it which I’m trying to do.”

While reacting to the governor’s assertions, separatist leader and Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that the Hurriyat Conference represented the wishes and aspirations of the people of the State. He also said, “New Delhi is suffering from the arrogance of power. It doesn’t want to resolve Kashmir dispute but instead resorts to subjugation and repression, forcing our youth to the path of armed resistance and martyrdom.”

National Conference (NC) also rejected the Governor’s assertion and said the people of the State are the “primary stakeholders” of the issue.

The party’s chief spokesperson Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said in a statement here “We have been the advocates of dialogue, both internal and external, since long before Governor Malik assumed office and we will continue to advocate it after his tenure as well.”

He added, “We cannot close our eyes to the woes of people. Our state is directly hit by the tension between India and Pakistan and when their relations improve we are the direct beneficiaries.”