Musharraf not to meet Hurriyat leaders

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 1. Pakistan has no intention of inviting leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for a formal or informal interaction with the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, during his visit to India between July 14 to 16.

Diplomatic sources here said that the Pakistan Government had noted India's desire to ensure that Islamabad did not create a situation which could prove to be embarrassing for the hosts during the Presidential visit.

A senior official in the Pakistan Foreign Office said, ``we are fully conscious of the sensitivities of India on the question of APHC. We have no intention to facilitate any formal or informal contact between the leaders of the Hurriyat and Gen. Musharraf when he would be in India between July 14 to 16.'' The clarification put an end to speculation that Pakistan might invite the Hurriyat leaders for the `high-tea' proposed to be hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi, Mr. Ashraf Jahangir Qazi, on July 14.

India had conveyed to Pakistan several days ago that any effort to facilitate a contact between the Hurriyat and Gen. Musharraf would not be conducive for the summit meet. ``It is a fact that New Delhi has communicated its reservations about any direct or indirect contact between the leaders of the APHC and the Pakistani President. We had indicated to the Indian Government that we have no intention to facilitate any such contact,'' the senior official said. The official maintained that the issue was deemed to have been closed till a section of the Indian media raked it up. ``We do not know the basis of the reports in the Indian press but there was certainly no such proposal from our side.''

India had conveyed its reservations against any contact between the Hurriyat leaders and the General on an issue of principle. India feels though the Hurriyat is an important component of the public opinion in Kashmir, it cannot appropriate the role of the sole representative of Kashmiris.

The Pakistan President, Gen. Musharraf, is believed to have sent the well-known Urdu poet, Mr. Ahmed Faraz, as his `special emissary' to New Delhi to interact with Indian intellectuals ahead of the summit.

The English daily, Dawn, said in a report that Mr. Faraz has been in India since June 25. The popular poet is a friend of the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee and the former Prime Minister, Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral. The paper said Mr. Faraz was busy interacting with various Indian political and literary personalities to create a ``conducive atmosphere'' before Gen. Musharraf's New Delhi visit on July 14.

But an Indian High Commission official here maintained that they were not aware of any Special Emissary status accorded to Mr. Faraz. The poet had sought a visa to go to India last month.

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