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| 'I never said militancy should end': Umar | | Hardliners throw APHC into confusion | | BL KAK
NEW DELHI, JAN. 23
Maulvi Umar Farooq, chairman of Kashmir's Hurriyat Conference, has triggered animated whispers by changing his stated position on militancy. If during his meeting in Islamabad last week with President, Gen. Parvez Musharraf, he was reported to have opposed militancy, the Maulvi on Monday was left with no choice by to reiterate in Islamabad itself: "I never said militancy should end".
The Hurriyat Conference chairman was reported to have told mediapersons at the end of a breakfast meeting with Pakistan's Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Tahir Iqbal, that while he had "never said that militancy should end", he had thought that it was time to support the political process in his homeland, Kashmir. And as he highlighted the need and relevance of dialogue process, Maulvi Umar Farooq insisted that people from Jammu and Ladakh should be included in political dialogue.
Tahir Iqbal's breakfast meeting was also attended by two other Hurriyat leaders from Kashmir, Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhatt and Bilal Lone. Even as Maulvi Umar Farooq stated that Gen. Parvez Musharraf's four-point formula could provide a foundation for the resolution of the Kashmir issue after appropriate amendements, he reportedly said at the meeting: "We are not accepting the four-point formula as a whole".
"Yes, we are moving ahead with the proposals floated by President Musharraf as they have pressured the Indian government, army and the opposition to step ahead", the APHC chief wasd quoted as saying. "Pakistan's bold stance has impressed the international community and the whole world is now looking towards India. But President Musharraf's proposals are not final and can be improved", Maulvi Umar Farooq said.
Reiterating that military action "is no solution to the Kashmir issue", the Maulvi insisted: "This is a political issue and an opportunity should be provided to resolve this issue through a political process". He was reported to have argued that the efforts of India and Pakistan could only succeed if various Kashmiri groups would unite and discuss the issue. The Maulvi let it be known that the two working groups consisting of Kashmiri leaders will hold intra-an Kashmiri dialogue every two or three months to develop consensus and to reach a decision.
Maulvi Farooq said that the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service did not benefit Kashmiris because of clearance issues. He urged Pakistan and India to allow operation of private transport between the two parts of Kashmir. "There is a dire need for movement of private transport across the Line of Control (LoC)," the heavily militarised de facto border between Pakistani and Indian-controlled zones of the Himalayan region, he said. He demanded that people should also be permitted to cross LoC both ways in their private vehicles.
He said that the bus service introduced across the border had not facilitated the common people because of cumbersome procedures for obtaining travel permission. He also said it was time the Kashmiris on both sides of LoC evolved a joint stance in pursuit of a peace.
Kashmir Affairs Minister, Tahir Iqbal, said the resolution of the Kashmir dispute was necessary for regional peace and stability and Pakistan and India should involve Kashmiri leaders in the ongoing dialogue. He was reported to have told the meeting that no secret deals were being made on Kashmir. "Everything is happening openly". Gen. Musharraf's proposals, he said, had "forced" India to come to the dialogue table. "Many ways were adopted to resolve the Kashmir issue, but they did not yield results. A new path has now been chosen. It is the path of peace", he added. Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) President, Raja Zulqarnain, and Prime Minister, Attique Ahmed Khan, also attended the meeting.
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