The Hindu : `Will continue talks with Kashmir panel'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 13, 2002

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`Will continue talks with Kashmir panel'

By Shujaat Bukhari

The Hurriyat Conference chairman, Abdul Gani Bhat, at a press conference in Srinagar on Saturday. — Photo: Nissar Ahmad

SRINAGAR OCT. 12. The All-Party Hurriyat Conference will continue to talk with the Kashmir Committee headed by the former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, and in the next few days ``we will again meet them when they are in Srinagar,'' the Hurriyat chairman, Abdul Gani Bhat, said here today.

However, he clarified that the KC was a non-official committee, thus they were not talking to the Centre.

Addressing a press conference here today in the wake of the Assembly election results, Prof. Bhat said the Hurriyat was for a plebiscite in Kashmir or a fruitful dialogue among all the parties. Elections were not a solution to the Kashmir problem and a plebiscite, as organised in East Timor, was the way out. Disputing the view that the Kashmiris had voted for integration with India, he threw a challenge to New Delhi and said ``if they are so confident, they should be prepared for a plebiscite. Whatever the result, we will accept.''

The demand was in accordance with the democratic traditions and international laws as the ``people are yet to exercise their right to decide about the future.''

Prof. Bhat claimed that the Hurriyat's contention was supported by those who had participated in the elections.

The People's Democratic Party chief, Mufti Mohamad Sayeed, was on record as saying that elections provided no answer to the problem. So was the National Conference president, Omar Abdullah. The Centre needed to understand this.

The vote in Kashmir — as projected by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee — was not in favour of India.

He claimed that it was cast due to coercion and out of anger against the Centre for ``excesses'' being committed against the people.

``If India and Pakistan take one step, we will follow with ten,'' he said adding "let all of us rise above our traditional positions. Rise above yesterday to capture tomorrow, we have to think and not just talk."

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