Would rather meet you, Hurriyat tells PM

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, MAY 30. Continuing to insist on tripartite talks, the All- Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chairperson, Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, today rejected the suggestion of the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, that the Hurriyat meet Mr. K.C. Pant, chief interlocutor, first. He said the Pant exercise had lost its meaning. Instead, ``we would like to meet both Mr. Vajpayee and Gen. Musharraf''.

Talking to The Hindu, Prof. Bhat said, ``We respect Mr. Vajpayee for his statesmanship though we may not agree with his suggestion.'' Mr. Pant's mission makes no sense in the backdrop of the forthcoming summit-level talks between Mr. Vajpayee and the Pakistan Chief Executive, he reasoned. ``He is catching a fish in the desert.'' Prof. Bhat said Mr. Pant meeting ``a cross- section of people in the State'' would have no impact whatsoever.

Mr. Vajpayee on Tuesday had asked the Hurriyat to first meet Mr. Pant - on a six-day tour of the State - and then think of meeting Gen. Musharraf.

Prof. Bhat expressed the desire to meet Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Vajpayee during the Delhi summit, saying the Hurriyat would rather talk to those who can do something for the resolution of the Kashmir problem. But the 23-party conglomerate is yet to discuss the issue formally.

The APHC chairman reiterated that without the participation of the Kashmiri people no solution to the problem was possible. ``The Hurriyat is ready to play its role as the basic party.''

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