The Hindu : Hurriyat strikes a cautious note

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 24, 2003

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Hurriyat strikes a cautious note

By Luv Puri

SRINAGAR OCT. 23. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) today gave a cautious response to the talks offer by the Centre, and appealed to all separatist groups in the Kashmir Valley to come together to formulate a collective strategy.

The People's Conference representative, Bilal Lone, Abdul Ghani Bhat of the Muslim Conference, Moulvi Abbas Ansari of the Ittehadul Muslimeen and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of the Awami Action Committee took part in a two-hour emergency meeting here.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, the former Hurriyat chairman, Abdul Ghani Bhat, said the latest developments were encouraging.

On the Hurriyat's response to the offer of talks by the Centre, he said: "We would take our time. We seek a honourable and respectable settlement. As soon as our discussions are complete, an outline would be drafted and taken up with India, Pakistan and Kashmir. "

At the same time, the conglomerate appealed to all the separatist outfits which are now not under its banner to come together. "We want a broad consensus within the Hurriyat and outside. In other words, we want all the pro-movement outfits under one banner, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani's group, and want to have a broader consensus. Let us bury the past. You cannot build a tomorrow unless you capture today," he said.

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