'Relevant people for next roundtable in Srinagar'

New Delhi, Apr 23: As the PMO prepares the list of invitees for the second roundtable in Srinagar next month, voices from several quarters have demanded that only ''selective'' and ''relevant'' people be invited to the conference to avoid a ''crowd'' and make it result-oriented and purposeful.

Leaders and representatives from several parties and groups have expressed the hope that the May conference will focus on ''quality rather than quantity''.

They said after the first roundtable, which was attended by about 50 invitees at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 7 Race Course Residence on February 25, the guest list needed to be rationalised for the next edition of the meet, to be held in the last week of May.

''Last time, it was too big a group. I am expecting that this time the emphasis would be on the quality and not the quantity,'' Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said while hoping that the list of invitees would be small.

Mr Azad said there should be only one or two representatives from a party or a group and not half a dozen people as happened at the last round-table. ''We should not make it one way,'' he added.

Without naming the group, Mr Azad said at the first roundtable a small party was represented by five people.

''The party should and could have been represented by one person only,'' he added.

Expressing similar views, National Conference President Omar Abdullah said he was waiting to see the level of participation in the conference.

''If this roundtable is used again to call those who are largely irrelevant in the eyes of the people, then unfortunately the conference will deliver little or nothing,'' he added.

Agreeing with Mr Azad that the guest list for the second roundtable needs to be rationalised, the NC President said the conference of about 50-60 people holds absolutely no weightage.

''There is also the need to look harder at the representative character of those who are being invited. The token separatists will not do. The separatists actually carrying some appeal need to be engaged and not those who have already sold themselves to one agency or another,'' he added.

National Conference chief patron Farooq Abdullah urged the Centre not to invite every ''Tom, Dick and Harry'' for the conference.

''Widening the scope of the dialogue process to no limit will not yield any result,'' he said.

Dr Abdullah said the people of Kashmir have suffered badly particularly during the last 17 years and their wounds should be allowed to heal now.

Panun Kashmir convenor Agnishekhar also suggested cutting down on the swelling guest list, saying each group or party must send only one representative to give all the people the chance to raise their issues at the conference. ''With more then two-three people wanting to speak from one organisation, it gets difficult to seek opinions from all groups ... that must be changed he explained.

Most of the leaders wanted the participation of the separatists, including leaders of the Hurriyat Conference, who had given the first roundtable a miss on the grounds that the Centre had not ''prepared well'' for the meet.

The Chief Minister said, ''I am sure the roundtable will be a huge success. It is high time and in the interest of everybody whosoever claims to be the sympathiser and well-wisher of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to participate in the second round-table conference''.

''If the leaders are really interested in finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue, they should participate in the conference,'' he added.

The Chief Minister said the Centre has taken concrete steps in finding a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue.

''The Prime Minister is coming to Kashmir. If the representatives of various groups and parties do not participate in the round-table they will be held responsible and not the government,'' he added.

Mr Omar Abdullah was hopeful that all the top separatist leaders would attend the second meet.

The former Union Minister said he was hopeful that moderate Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chief Yasin Malik, heads of both the factions of the Peoples Conference -- Bilal Ghani Lone and Sajjad Ghani Lone -- would participate in the conference.

''All the separatists have representative characters and carry appeal in their areas,'' he added.

The NC Chief said efforts should be made to engage breakaway Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani in the dialogue process.

''Mr Geelani probably will not participate in the roundtable, but there should be efforts to engage him in talks,'' he added.

Dr Farooq Abdullah urged the Centre to ''lure'' the separatists to attend the conference for a ''good and result-oriented dialogue process.

Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti expressed the hope that leaders of all the political, separatist and social organisations would participate in the second roundtable conference to evolve a consensus on the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

''A workable solution could be permanent and long-lasting only when the people of all the three regions of the state were taken into confidence,'' she added.

''Before arriving at a final settlement on the Kashmir issue, there was a need to address the problems of various regions so that the people become equal stake holders in the resolution of the issue.

UNI