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Hurriyat has taken a step forward: Pant
By Our Special Correspondent
The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, K.C. Pant (right), with Wajahat Habibullah, former Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, at a meeting in the Yojana Bhavan in New Delhi, on Monday. - Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
NEW DELHI, FEB. 4. The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has indicated that it was ready to contest the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls scheduled later this year and by doing so it can establish its representative character, the Centre's interlocutor, K.C. Pant, today said.
``The Hurriyat leaders are indicating that they may be inclined towards participation in the Assembly polls as and when they are held. I will not say anything that will block their way. ``By some way or the other, the Hurriyat may participate in the State elections. Earlier, they were not even talking about it but at least now they are not averse to it. I will not say anything more than that which will affect their moves,'' he said.
Mr. Pant was talking to presspersons after meeting the senior IAS officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Wajahat Habibullah, who has been in touch with the Hurriyat leaders and others in Kashmir.
Asked why Mr. Habibullah was meeting him, Mr. Pant said: ``I have known him and his family for a long time. There is nothing very surprising or startling about his meeting me. He has all along been very helpful and as a former Divisional Commissioner in Kashmir, he has known many people in the State.''
Maintaining that Mr. Habibullah's role as the Government's emissary was ``not a new initiative'', Mr. Pant said that dialogue was a continuing process and added that many people were helping in it formally and informally. ``Talking to people is one of the basic purposes of continuing the dialogue,'' he added.
Mr. Pant's optimism on prospects of the Hurriyat's participation in the Assembly polls stems from what he described were two crucial factors in the present scenario in Jammu and Kashmir.
First, the post-September 11 situation in which Pakistan had to crack down on terrorist groups and `jehadi' organisations and Taliban cadres which has triggered a change in the situation in Kashmir. Secondly, elements in the Hurriyat would also be watching closely the change in the attitude of Pakistan, which has shown that it can dump any group, if the situation so demanded, in guarding its own interest.
Asked if he had any interaction with the Hurriyat leaders on the subject, Mr. Pant said that some elements in the conglomerate might be in favour of participation in elections while some might not be. ``One can say that the Hurriyat has not put forth all its ideas. It has taken a step forward,'' he added.
Responding to a query whether the Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, also wanted the Hurriyat to take part in the polls, Mr. Pant said the Chief Minister was unequivocal about his support to such a move. ``In fact, Dr. Abdullah has made it clear several times to me and others that he wanted all groups to give up violence and take part in elections,'' Mr. Pant said.
Earlier, Mr. Habibullah called on the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh.
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