Bazaz declines to attend Kashmir roundtable

Srinagar, Apr 22 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Front (JKDF) chairman Pandit Bhushan Bazaz today said he will not attend the third roundtable conference convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on April 24.

In a statement here, Pandit Bazaz said such a round-table conference would ''harm'' the ongoing dialogue process on Kashmir and create confusion.

He said the Prime Minister sprang a surprise by announcing the date for the third round-table conference on Jammu and Kashmir.

''New Delhi was not doing any good by inviting the secessionists separately for talks and then suddenly going for the round-table conference,'' the JKDF president said.

Pandit Bazaz said his party was in favour of a peaceful solution to the contentious Kashmir issue through a dialogue process.

''From day one, we have been advocating a solution to the Kashmir issue through dialogue,'' he added.

UNI