National Front leader Nayeem Khan, an associate of moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has asked for an end to the quiet diplomacy with the Centre.
“People want transparency. Quiet diplomacy will lead to deceit and New Delhi’s traps,” Khan told Hindustan Times.
Khan is
the first leader of a Hurriyat constituent to oppose the dialogue process to resolve the Kashmir issue and criticise the Mirwaiz’s approach openly.
“We talked to New Delhi in 2001 and we came to be known as Advani-Hurriyat and achieved nothing,” he said, “We want change on the ground before the dialogue process moves.”
Khan said one day the Mirwaiz would oppose quiet diplomacy only to welcome it next day, saying Pakistan was on board.
Khan, once a close associate of the Mirwaiz, of late developed a soft corner for the hard-line leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who always opposed any dialogue process with the central government, and made it known by criticising the state government for repeated arrests of Geelani.
About the Mirwaiz’s willingness to begin a dialogue, Khan said, “He cannot enter into a dialogue unless he creates a consensus within the Hurriyat.”