Monday, September 20, 2010

APD MEETS MIRWAIZ & GEELANI

Srinagar: Individual members of the all-party delegation to Kashmir meet separatists from the Valley at their residence. A five-member team including Sitaram Yechury, T R Baalu and Owasi met Syed Ali Shah Geelani - chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (G) at his home. Hurriyat chairman (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday stuck to his party’s pro-independence stance as a five-member team of leaders, who are part of the all-party delegation in Kashmir, visited him at his residence here. During his meeting with the All Party delegation, the Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani Monday reiterated that if India would fulfil five-condition put forth by him normalcy would return.
Five-members of the all -party delegation that called on him at his residence here urged him to restore normalcy in the Valley. Geelani told them once New Delhi accepts his 5-point formula normalcy would be restored. Geelani without mincing any words said that India should accept Kashmir as a dispute and it should rein in its forces. The delegation members assured him that they would convey his message to people of India and the formula put forward by him would be discussed threadbare. Pertinently, the octogenarian leader earlier this month had said that India should accept Kashmir an international dispute, begin demilitarisation in the state under the supervision of a “credible’ world agency, repeal all harsh laws, including Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act, release all political prisoners and punish the forces’ personnel involved in the recent killings.
He also wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to publicly commit and ensure no further killings do take place. Meanwhile, chairman of Hurriyat (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq during his meeting with the all-party delegation cautioned that India should admit that Kashmiris were fighting for freedom. “New Delhi cannot shy from discussing Freedom (Azaadi),” Mirwaiz told the members of all-party delegation that called on him at his Nageen residence here. However, senior Left leader Gurudas Das Gupta, who was leading the all-party delegation members, said that he had no mandate to talk about Freedom. “We assure you that entire India feels your pain. Please help us to let us help you,” Das Gupta told Mirwaiz.
According to Agence India Press correspondent, the Hurriyat (M) chairman told the delegation that it should go and ask the common people on streets what they want. However, Das Gupta told Mirwaiz that they acknowledge that he represents a large section of the people and he is giving vent to their sentiments. Mirwaiz showed the photographs of the teenage boys and youngsters, who have fallen to the bullets of forces, (since from last three months) to the delegation. The delegation members asked Mirwaiz what were the people of Kashmir demanding.
The Mirwaiz in his reply said the members of delegation should meet the common man on streets and those lying with bullet injuries in various hospitals. Kashmir has been rocked by widespread protests since June, with at least 107 people killed in clashes with security forces. Earlier in a day, Home Minister P Chidambaram assured the people of the Kashmir their honour, dignity and future are secure as part of India. The visit by the all-party team, the first in two decades, hoped to help break the deadlock in the Valley, where violence has claimed over 100 lives in the past three months. The delegation's recommendations will be considered by the Cabinet Committee on Security of Kashmir later this week. “We are here to listen to your views, we will give you a patient hearing, what you think we need to do, in order to bring to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, the hope and the belief that their honour and dignity and their future are secure as part of India,” Chidambaram, who led the 39-member delegation to the state, said. The 39-member team will spend two days in Srinagar and Jammu.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, Samajwadi party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, DMK leader T R Baalu, LJP President Ram Vilas Paswan, JD-U chief Sharad Yadav, Indian Union Muslim League President E Ahamed are part of the delegation. National Conference leader and state Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said the discontent within the people is because of so many unfulfilled promises by the government. Meanwhile, state Congress chief Saifuddin Soz said dialogue was the only way forward and appealed to the delegation to reach out to the grieving people of Kashmir. The PDP, which had earlier threatened to boycott the meet if the curfew was not lifted, said dialogue was impossible in the atmosphere of a siege in the Valley. “How can you reach out to the protestors if curfew is not lifted,” PDP leader Nizamuddin Bhatt said.

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