Pakistan High Commission in Delhi has invited Kashmir’s separatist leaders including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik for Iftar on June 25. The invitation is mostly a routine affair.
“I have been invited for the Iftar but I won’t be able to go owing to my commitments here during the month of Ramadhan. May be I will visit the commission after Eid,” moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told Hindustan Times .
The invitation comes days after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj indicated that there was “warmth and ease” in the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, which can help resolve complex issues between the two neighbours.
Among the hardline Hurriyat camp, as many as 30 have been invited, said Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said.
Those invited include chairman Syed Ali Geelani, Ashraf Sehrai,Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi, Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan.
“It is yet to be decided whether Geelani sahib will attend or not but nevertheless our representation will be there in the function,” Akbar said.
A spokesman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front also confirmed the invitation to 12 of their members including chairman Yasin Malik from the Pakistan High Commission.
{{/usCountry}}A spokesman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front also confirmed the invitation to 12 of their members including chairman Yasin Malik from the Pakistan High Commission.
{{/usCountry}}“We are not yet sure whether Yasin sahib will be able to attend or not as he is in jail,” the spokesman said.
Read: Not on talking terms anymore: India, Pakistan NSAs are no longer in touch
In August last year, India and Pakistan had cancelled their National Security Advisor ( NSA) level talks after the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi invited Hurriyat leaders for a “reception party” on August 23, the day the NSA-level talks between the two countries were scheduled in New Delhi.