Separatists yet to receive invitation for conf

Srinagar, Apr 16: Majority of the separatist organisations have not yet received any invitation from the Centre for the third round-table conference on Kashmir being held in New Delhi on April 24.

However, the mainstream political parties, including Communist Party of India (M) have got the letter, inviting them to New Delhi to participate in the conference, the first after Prime Minister announced setting up of four working groups at the end of the second round table conference held in Srinagar May 24-25 last year.

The Hurriyat Conference (HC) headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has already rejected round-table conference.

A spokesman of the HC Aiyaz Akbar told sources that they have not received any invitation letter for the conference from any quarter.

We do not need any invitation, as our reply would be ''no'' to such conferences, he said adding till this afternoon no letter has been received.

He reiterated that HC was in favour of tripartite talks to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Mr Akbar said they cannot be a part of a process meant to discuss the internal administrative matter. Let India, Pakistan and the true representatives of the people sit together and discuss the issue.

He said everything except the issue of Kashmir was discussed in the previous two round-table conferences attended by only mainstream parties.

Mr Akbar said a number of bilateral talks were held between India and Pakistan and some leaders of Kashmir since 1947 without making any breakthrough.

The peace process between India and Pakistan had failed to change the ground situation in Kashmir where people were being killed in fake encounters, women disrespected and youths put behind bars, he alleged.

Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah today said he too has not received any invitation as of now.

However, he has received two invitations for the two-day Phagwash conference being held in Kerala from April 21 and the '' Intra Kashmir heart to heart'' conference being held in New Delhi on April 27-28.

I have not yet decided about Intra Kashmir and Phagwash conference, he said and added that he has not received any letter from the centre for third round-table conference.

He said he has heard about the third round-table conference but has not been contacted by anyone so far.

Mr Shah told sources that decision about participation in the conference will be taken only after receiving the letter. But he said the DFP was pro-people and the decision would be taken accordingly. He said his party would support any move that helped find a durable and amicable solution to the Kashmir issue lingering for the past 57 years.

We supported the peace process between India and Pakistan, he said and alleged that fruits of the peace process had yet to reach Kashmir where security forces were committing Human Rights violations and thousands were languishing in jails for years.

The moderate faction of the HC headed by Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq had also not received the invitation letter for the conference, amalgam sources said.

A senior leader of the faction Moulana Abbas Ansari told sources on Saturday that it will participate in any conference which is held to address only the Kashmir issue.

He had said that they cannot participate in any conference which is just to discuss the construction of roads, bridges and running the government. ''We cannot be a part of any conference which is just to discuss administrative matters,'' Mr Ansari said.

We will participate in any conference, which is purely held to discuss the ways and means to resolve the Kashmir issue that has already claimed lakhs of lives, he said.

When asked if the HC will participate in the round-table conference, the former chairman of the amalgam said let us see the letter of invitation from the Centre.

If it is to discuss only the Kashmir issue, we will participate otherwise not, he said.

He said there are several people including Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and National Conference (NC) patron Farooq Abdullah for that discussing administrative matters.

However, the former Chief Minister and patron of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a partner in the Congress led coalition government, said the conference must be result-oriented.

He said the recommendations finalised by the four Working Groups should be approved for implementation thereby providing the much-needed break-through in addressing the internal dimensions of the Kashmir issue by taking care of the aspirations and grievances of the people of all the regions, religions and ethnic groups of the State.

He said every effort should be made to make the Conference all-inclusive by involving people with varying shades of opinion, including the separatists, in the discourse.

UNI