Pak., PoK invitees to Jammu meet put India in a fix

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, FEB. 22. A number of prominent politicians and intellectuals from Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), who have been invited for a conference in Jammu to discuss the Kashmir issue in the third week of March, are prepared to attend it if the Government of India grants them visas.

The conference poses a dilemma to the Government of Indiathat is already grappling with the question of issue of travel documents to an All-Party Hurriyat Conference delegation. Of course, in one case it is the issue of passports and in the other, visas.

The chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Mr. Amanullah Khan, who is among the invitees to the conference, has forwarded to the organisers a list of 88 members from Pakistan and PoK who are willing to travel to Jammu. The fact that his organisation is banned and an arrest warrant is pending against him in India has not deterred Mr. Khan from seeking to take part take in the conference.

So far none of the invitees from either Pakistan or PoK has approached the Indian High Commission in Pakistan for the necessary visa documents. ``We would first like to know whether the Indian Government in principle would agree to allow us to travel to Jammu. I have written to the former Chief Minister, Mr. Ghulam Mohammad Shah, who is organising the conference, to ascertain the position from New Delhi. If we get a green signal from the Indian Government, we would go ahead seeking visas,'' Mr. Khan said.

Being organised by the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and president of J&K Awami National Conference, Mr. G.M. Shah, the conference intends to bring together people from various walks of life from both sides of the border. Mr. Shah has invited all the prominent politicians and intellectuals from the PoK, Gilgit-Baltistan (known as northern areas of Kashmir administered by Pakistan) and Pakistan.

Titled ``in search of peace and solution'', the conference intends to provide a platform to people from both sides of Kashmir subscribing to different ideologies.

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Section  : International
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