Hurriyat willing to talk to Centre if it's serious

Moderate separatist faction of the Hurriyat on Friday expressed willingness to engage New Delhi "provided it shows seriousness and takes measures on suggestions" made by the separatist amalgam in the past.

Moderate separatist faction of the Hurriyat on Friday expressed willingness to engage New Delhi "provided it shows seriousness and takes measures on suggestions" made by the separatist amalgam in the past.

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"We have always been for a result-oriented dialogue process on the Kashmir dispute. Unfortunately, there has been no movement on suggestions made by us to the government of India," said moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

Farooq was speaking in Srinagar during a commemoration ceremony of his uncle Moulvi Mushtaq Ahmad on his ninth death anniversary. Ahmad was assassinated by unknown gunmen apparently to put pressure on the Mirwaiz not to engage New Delhi.

The Mirwaiz asked New Delhi to show seriousness towards the proposal put forth by his faction. "It is necessary to pave way for a dialogue process," he said.

During the 2010 street uprising, both the factions of the Hurriyat, led by the Mirwaiz and hardline Syed Ali Shah Geelani, asked New Delhi to show seriousness towards a range of suggestions of the separatists to start a dialogue process.

The suggestions include revocation of laws like the AFSPA, PSA etc, release of political prisoners, end to human rights abuses and demilitarisation of civilian areas. However, Geelani also asked New Delhi to declare Kashmir as an international dispute.

"We will always welcome steps taken by the two countries to resolve the Kashmir dispute as per the aspirations of people here. Status quo is not in favour of India nor can it afford to leave it hanging for long. It has potential to destabilise the region," warned the Mirwaiz.

The Mirwaiz's Hurriyat did engage New Delhi in the past, which include back channels too. It also engaged the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the past.