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Hurriyat for unconditional talks: Mirwaiz

The moderate faction of the All Party Hurriyat Conference is willing to resume dialogue with the Centre in the next two months. Toufiq Rashid reports.

Updated on: Oct 07, 2009 04:22 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By , Srinagar
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The moderate faction of the All Party Hurriyat Conference is willing to resume dialogue with the Centre in the next two months.

HT Image
HT Image

The Kashmir Valley head priest Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction, said the Kashmiri leadership would not insist on any precondition.

What’s more, he said his party was also keen on talking to Pakistan.

The Hurriyat Conference is an umbrella organisation of 24 Kashmir-based parties.

Farooq is also trying to reach an understanding with his hard-line counterpart Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the United Jehad Council before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Kashmir end of this month.

He said, “ We want everybody to participate in the process.”

Since 2004, the Umer Farooq faction has held three rounds of talks with the government, while the Geelani faction has refused to come to the negotiation table until the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is scrapped.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Toufiq Rashid

Chief of bureau of HT at Srinagar, Toufiq has been covering the volatile state of Kashmir for the past seven years. Was working as special correspondent in Indian Express in New Delhi, covering health and wellness. Has done human interest stories from across the country for almost a decade.

Check India news real-time updates, latest news on Hindustan Times and more across India.
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