Geelani terms PM's round-table conference futile, meaningless

Srinagar, May 20: Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani today rejected the Centre's invite to participate in the second round-table conference on Kashmir, convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on May 24-25, terming it a ''meaningless and futile exercise''.

Addressing a news conference here, he also called for a general strike and appealed to the people to hold massive protests and demonstrations on both the days across Jammu and Kashmir to register their dissent and disapproval of such conferences.

Mr Geelani, who is the chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat Conference, said the round-table conference was a ''wastage of time and was without any agenda''.

''We consider the round table conference a futile exercise and as such have rejected the invitation,'' he added.

The hardline leader said as many as 130 conferences, meetings and dialogue processes have been held since 1947 to find ways to resolve the vexed Kashmir issue.

''But, there has been no forward movement on the issue so far.

All such conferences, meetings and talks have failed to yield the desired results,'' the firebrand leader added.

The breakaway Hurriyat Chairman said all these conferences were meaningless and nothing would be achieved through such meetings.

At the news conference, he also read the invitation letter signed by Mr G S Rajagopal, Special Secretary in the Union Home Ministry.

The letter was delivered to Mr Geelani at his residence here at 0830 hrs this morning.

He said there has been no change in the ground situation even after India and Pakistan started the ongoing composite dialogue process in January 2004.

Mr Geelani accused New Delhi of insincerity in resolving the Kashmir issue and claimed that there has been no flexibility in India's stand vis-a-vis the Kashmir issue.

He called for implementation of the UN resolutions, saying it was the only acceptable, peaceful and democratic solution to the long-festering Kashmir issue.

The hardline leader broke down several times during the news conference while alleging that security forces continue to commit atrocities in Kashmir.

Meanwhile, the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, will meet here on Monday to decide about their participation in the Srinagar round-table conference.

UNI