Indo-Pak dialogue must include Kashmiris: Malik | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Indo-Pak dialogue must include Kashmiris: Malik

None | ByIndo-Asian News Service, Murali Krishnan (ians)
Feb 17, 2006 09:38 PM IST

JKLF chief Yasin Malik said this would be the only way forward for talks between India and Pakistan to succeed.

Calling for a more meaningful engagement of the Kashmiri people in the peace process, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik on Friday said this would be the only way forward for talks between India and Pakistan to succeed.

HT Image
HT Image

"Don't humiliate the Kashmiris, trust them and take them along with you as it is their destiny which is being decided," Malik said ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday evening.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Malik, a prominent separatist leader who was released from jail in 1994 (after his arrest in August 1990), renounced the use of violence to attain the goal of self-determination for the people of Kashmir and has been mobilising public opinion in India and Pakistan.

"Both India and Pakistan have been claiming that the ongoing peace dialogue is irreversible. But where do the Kashmiris figure in the scheme of things? Decisions about their future have been made by others and later communicated to them. Is that fair?" queried Malik, stating this would be his essential message to Singh during their talks.

Malik said he would not focus on solutions to the Kashmir issue but on how to work out a dialogue mechanism with Kashmiris during his talks with Singh.

This will be Prime Minister Singh's second meeting with a separatist group outside the fold of the Hurriyat Conference to broaden the dialogue process. Last month Singh met up with People's Conference chairman Sajjad Lone.

Malik asserted that the optimism in the peace process with Pakistan was not reflected on the ground. "Unless the ordinary Kashmiri folk are taken into confidence and also roped in the decision making process, what meaning does the dialogue have?" he asked.

The talks with Malik are aimed at widening the scope of the peace process in Jammu and Kashmir and come a week before Singh's proposed round-table talks with political leaders, separatists and other groups.

Singh has invited all Kashmiri politicians, including separatists, for a round table meeting in the capital on February 24. Except for the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) headed by Shabir Ahmed Shah who has rejected participation, all others have agreed to come.

The list of invitees include Kashmir mainstream political leaders from the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the National Conference, the People's Democratic Party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Panthers' Party, besides the moderate Hurriyat Conference headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Sajjad Lone's Peoples' Conference.

The discussions are expected to be opened without any specific agenda, as the Prime Minister wants to listen to the divergent viewpoints.

Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On