Clarity must for talks: Separatists

Srinagar: The alliance of Kashmir’s key separatist leaders on Tuesday said that in view of “ambiguity” in the Centre’s stand on holding talks on the vexed issue of Kashmir, it cannot give a serious thought to the idea of sitting across the table with it.

It, however, said that if the government “gives clarity on what it wants to talk about and speaks in one language we are ready to join the process”.

The alliance asserted that since Jammu and Kashmir is divided and a part of it is under Pakistan’s ‘control’, no lasting solution to the problem could be arrived at unless Islamabad is also involved in the dialogue process. It reiterated that a “meaningful” engagement between all the three “stakeholders” alone will lead to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

A statement issued by the alliance called ‘Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL)’, after its key members Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik closeted here to discuss the issue threadbare, said, “Various people in the government talk differently. There’s ambiguity in its stand which leaves little room for considering the talk about talks seriously with a purpose or warrants a response” (sic).

Home minister Rajnath Singh had last week said that “If Hurriyat is ready to talk, we’ve no problem. We’re ready to talk to anyone. Even if Pakistan comes for a dialogue, we’re ready for it.”

Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had said that a peaceful engagement is urgently needed to get J&K out of violence cycle. She appealed to the Hurriyat Conference “to display maturity and show responsibility towards people”.

However, the ‘JRL’ which has on it Mr Geelani, Mr Mirwaiz and Mr Malik who is the chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) said that there is confusion among various functionaries in the government at the Centre over the issue.

It said that the statements emanating on the issue of holding talks with Kashmiri separatists and Pakistan from New Delhi over the past few days are “unclear and ambiguous”.

The alliance said that any effort that the government makes in this direction will find takers in Kashmir and Pakistan. “Let Government of India give clarity on what it wants to talk about and speak in one language we are ready to join the process,” it said.

“The stakes for people of Kashmir are very high,” the statement concluded.