Moderate Hurriyat leader rejects offer of talks

Rejecting the Centre's offer of "quiet talks" on Kashmir, senior leader of Hurriyat moderates Shabir Ahmad Shah on Friday said the long standing issue could be resolved only through tripartite talks under the supervision of United Nations or an impartial country.

Rejecting the Centre's offer of "quiet talks" on Kashmir, senior leader of Hurriyat moderates Shabir Ahmad Shah on Friday said the long standing issue could be resolved only through tripartite talks under the supervision of United Nations or an impartial country.

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"Kashmir is an issue concerning the future of 1.30 crore people. It could be resolved only through tripartite talks in the light of U N Resolutions under the watchful eyes of the world body or impartial country," Shah, who heads Democratic Freedom party (DFP), said addressing a public meeting at Pulwama town, 32 kms from here.

Casting doubts on the Centre's intentions over "quiet dialogue", the Hurriyat Executive member said it is not sincere about the resolution of the issue.

"On the One hand, they (Centre) are describing Kashmir as an integral part and on the other the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has categorically ruled out any change in the boundaries," Shah said.

He also said by assigning the task of resolving Kashmir to Home Minister P Chidambaram, the Centre is trying to convey a message that Kashmir is an integral part of the country.