Give peace a chance: Lone

By Our Special Correspondent

New DELHI, DEC. 11 The senior Hurriyat leader, Mr. Abdul Gani Lone, returned to India this evening and reiterated that he stood by the views he had expressed in an interview to The Washington Post a few days ago. Mr. Lone's views have provoked quite a controversy in Srinagar.

``My views are known, and I am not the one to change my views at the first whiff of opposition,'' Mr. Lone told The Hindu. The Hurriyat leader had gone to Pakistan to attend his son's wedding, and during his three-week stay there he had met, among others, the Pakistani ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Mr. Lone repeated that ``peace needs to be given a chance, and all militant outfits should come with a united response to Mr. Vajpayee's initiative for peace.'' He also suggested that all non-Kashmiri militants would have to leave the Valley, once political dialogue started.

Senior Home Ministry officials as well as those involved in informal consultations with the Hurriyat leaders were keenly awaiting Mr. Lone's return. Since he is perhaps the seniormost Hurriyat leader to have met the Pakistani ruler, his utterances would be judged as reflecting and incorporating Islamabad's revised priorities. ``I met him (Gen. Pervez) and he convinced me about the Pakistani stand... but one thing is that he is not happy over the stand taken by the Indian Government,`` he told newsmen.

After staying for a couple of days in Delhi, Mr. Lone (as also other Hurriyat leaders camping here) is expected to go back to Srinagar, and the All-Party Hurriyat Conference executive is likely to meet shortly to come out with a coherent response to the peace process. During his stay in Pakistan, Mr. Lone met militant leaders, including the Hizbul chief, Syed Salluddin. He observed that ``since I was not having any mandate to talk to them, I would prefer to remain silent on this issue.''

It is realised that Mr. Lone has correctly gauged the changed mood in the Kashmir Valley, and that if remains unintimidated he could probably swing the Hurriyat Conference on the side of peace and political dialogue. Mr. Lone, and other Hurriyat leaders, are aware that their organisation cannot afford to be seen as taking dictation from Islamabad. There is also the divide between the foreigner and the indigenous militant groups, with the local (Kashmiri) groups wanting to test New Delhi's sincerity.

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