Hurriyat leaders to meet Pakistan Foreign Secretary

Srinagar, Nov 7 (UNI) A five-member Hurriyat Conference delegation, led by Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, will meet Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Ahmed Khan in New Delhi during his forthcoming visit to India for talks with his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon on various issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.

Foreign Secretaries of the two countries would meet in New Delhi from November 13 to 15, marking the resumption of the composite dialogue process, which had been stalled after the Mumbai bomb blasts on July 11 this year.

The decision was taken at an extra-ordinary meeting at the Hurriyat's Raj Bagh headquarters here this morning.

An amalgam spokesman said Mr Khan had expressed a desire to meet the Kashmir separatist leaders during his India visit.

''We (moderate Hurriyat leaders) had also been invited for a meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Secretary. We have accepted the invitation and would be going to New Delhi to meet Mr Khan.'' The spokesman said the Hurriyat Executive Committee, at the meeting, nominated a five-member delegation for talks with Mr Khan.

The Mirwaiz would lead the delegation while the other members of the team were Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Bilal Ghani Lone and Aga Syed Hassan.

Indications are that the chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, would also meet the visiting Pakistani dignitary. It would be after a long time that the firebrand leader meets any Pakistani leader or official.

UNI AG MIR RN1957