Musharraf keen on meeting Hurriyat leaders

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 4. The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has said that he would like to meet the leaders of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) during his visit to India between July 14 and 16.

At the same he added, in an interview to an international agency here today, that he would be guided by India's desire in this matter.

Gen. Musharraf's remarks are seen as an attempt by his Government to mollify the `aggrieved leaders' of the APHC over the reports that India and Pakistan have reached an agreement on the subject.

New Delhi has already made it clear that it would not appreciate any contact between Gen. Musharraf and the Hurriyat during his visit. Pakistan had agreed to the Indian suggestion. While India had suggested that it did not consider APHC alone a true representative body of the Kashmiris, Pakistan - while insisting that it continued to recognise the Hurriyat as the sole representative organisation of Kashmiris - would not like to do any thing that would spoil the summit atmosphere.

A few days ago during an interaction with a group of Pakistani editors, Gen. Musharraf had said that he would ``try his best'' to meet APHC representatives during his visit to India. At the same time, he made it clear that Pakistan had no intention of making it an issue.

In a related development, Gen. Musharraf reiterated at a Cabinet meeting that Kashmir would be the focus of his talks with Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Gen. Musharraf informed his Cabinet colleagues that he received the ``fullest support from every group which included politicians, Kashmiri leaders and mediapersons'' for his visit. His reference was obviously in connection with the series of interaction he had on the summit.

An official statement said here that these groups representing different sections of the society appreciated Gen. Musharraf's decision to initiate dialogue with India and described it as a step in the right direction.

The statement said Gen. Musharraf would also meet representatives of youth and women in the next few days to elicit their views on his scheduled visit to India. The Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, briefed the Cabinet on the ``state of relations between India and Pakistan''.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Govt. clears AI shareholders pact
Next     : Sonia happy with 'success' of U.S. visit