India
Always up for talks, says Hurriyat after Rajnath reports rejection in 2016 | India News – Times of India
SRINAGAR:Mirwaiz Omar The Farooq-led Hurriyat conference on Monday reaffirmed its support for dialogue with the Centre, a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told rallies in Jammu that the Centre had sent a parliamentary delegation in 2016 to initiate peace talks in J&K but the Hurriyat leaders had “closed their doors” to them.
At rallies in Ramban and Banihal on Sunday, Rajnath further said that he had spoken to then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on how to bring about normalcy. He had even agreed to withdraw cases against minors. Rajnath was then Home Minister and the BJP and Mehbooba’s PDP were leading a coalition government in J&K.
“We even brought (some opposition MPs) Sharad Yadav and other senior leaders to negotiate with Hurriyat, but they closed the doors for the visiting delegation,” Rajnath had said. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who led the hardline faction of Hurriyat, had rebuffed the delegation of MPs led by Rajnath. Geelani died in 2021.
On Monday, Mirwaiz Umar, who at the time led the moderate faction of Hurriyat, attempted to “set the record straight” about the events surrounding the parliamentary delegation.
According to Mirwaiz Umar, he was in jail at the time and Mehbooba, as PDP chief, sent him a letter through jail officials requesting him to meet the delegation. “AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of the delegation, came to me in jail. Owaisi told me that the delegation wanted to meet the Hurriyat leadership regarding the grim situation (in J&K),” Mirwaiz Umar said TOI.
He further recalled what he had told Owaisi. “I requested Owaisi Sahab should ask the government to stop the killings and let the Hurriyat leaders, who are in different jails and under house arrest, meet first and discuss the situation among themselves before deciding whether they can collectively talk to the delegation,” Mirwaiz Umar said.
According to the Hurriyat leader, this was done to find out whether the MPs could help forge a “long-term commitment (with the government) or whether it was just another attempt at crisis management that would be dumped once the crisis was over, as previous experience had shown”. “No leader was able to take a decision on these (talks) individually. Owaisi agreed, said he would convey this to the government and left. Nothing was heard of them after that,” Mirwaiz Umar recalled.
He claimed that he had always advocated “dialogue that upholds the political aspirations and sentiments of the people of J&K as a means of resolution”. According to Mirwaiz Umar, the Hurriyat outfit under his leadership participated in every opportunity offered by the Centre for talks, going back to the days of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. This, Mirwaiz Umar said, entailed great danger and huge personal cost to the Hurriyat leaders.
Stressing that this was not done for Hurriyat’s “personal gain or power”, Mirwaiz Umar renewed his commitment to dialogue. “Even after drastic unilateral changes in 2019 (abolition of special status) and extended house arrest till September 2023, I have reiterated my plea for talks but to no avail,” he said.
At rallies in Ramban and Banihal on Sunday, Rajnath further said that he had spoken to then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on how to bring about normalcy. He had even agreed to withdraw cases against minors. Rajnath was then Home Minister and the BJP and Mehbooba’s PDP were leading a coalition government in J&K.
“We even brought (some opposition MPs) Sharad Yadav and other senior leaders to negotiate with Hurriyat, but they closed the doors for the visiting delegation,” Rajnath had said. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who led the hardline faction of Hurriyat, had rebuffed the delegation of MPs led by Rajnath. Geelani died in 2021.
On Monday, Mirwaiz Umar, who at the time led the moderate faction of Hurriyat, attempted to “set the record straight” about the events surrounding the parliamentary delegation.
According to Mirwaiz Umar, he was in jail at the time and Mehbooba, as PDP chief, sent him a letter through jail officials requesting him to meet the delegation. “AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of the delegation, came to me in jail. Owaisi told me that the delegation wanted to meet the Hurriyat leadership regarding the grim situation (in J&K),” Mirwaiz Umar said TOI.
He further recalled what he had told Owaisi. “I requested Owaisi Sahab should ask the government to stop the killings and let the Hurriyat leaders, who are in different jails and under house arrest, meet first and discuss the situation among themselves before deciding whether they can collectively talk to the delegation,” Mirwaiz Umar said.
According to the Hurriyat leader, this was done to find out whether the MPs could help forge a “long-term commitment (with the government) or whether it was just another attempt at crisis management that would be dumped once the crisis was over, as previous experience had shown”. “No leader was able to take a decision on these (talks) individually. Owaisi agreed, said he would convey this to the government and left. Nothing was heard of them after that,” Mirwaiz Umar recalled.
He claimed that he had always advocated “dialogue that upholds the political aspirations and sentiments of the people of J&K as a means of resolution”. According to Mirwaiz Umar, the Hurriyat outfit under his leadership participated in every opportunity offered by the Centre for talks, going back to the days of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. This, Mirwaiz Umar said, entailed great danger and huge personal cost to the Hurriyat leaders.
Stressing that this was not done for Hurriyat’s “personal gain or power”, Mirwaiz Umar renewed his commitment to dialogue. “Even after drastic unilateral changes in 2019 (abolition of special status) and extended house arrest till September 2023, I have reiterated my plea for talks but to no avail,” he said.
