Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI/ SRINAGAR, May 25: The Congress today distanced itself from its leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s meeting with Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, saying it never recognised those who are “unelectable and unrepresentative”.
Click here to watch video
Seeking to evade questions on Aiyar-Mirwaiz meeting, which he called an action by an “individual”, Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said, “There are enough leaders of BJP who are meeting separatists and the Prime Minister is silent.”
He was referring to the efforts of former Union Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha to initiate dialogue in Kashmir.
The Congress leader said an individal’s viewpoint may be different from that of the Congress party’s view.
“I cannot comment on individual citizen’s actions. We are commenting about the Government of the day, as to how they are engaging and do they have a roadmap for dialogue,” he said on Aiyar’s meeting with moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as part of an NGO.
Sharma said the Congress has been saying repeatedly that if the prime minister has a plan or a roadmap, he should at least in camera sit with the opposition leaders and discuss as there are issues of concerns of national security and territorial integrity.
In Srinagar, a five-member delegation of Centre for Peace and Progress led by senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer today called on senior separatist leaders including hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani who briefed it about the prevailing situation in Kashmir. The delegation also called on Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Besides Aiyar, the delegation comprised of O P Shah, Kapil Kak, Vinod Sharma and ID Khajuria. The delegation first called on moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq this afternoon at his Nigeen residence. Mirwaiz welcomed the delegation and held detailed meeting with delegation members.
On the occasion, Mirwaiz told the delegation that it was good to know that in the din of “hateful outbursts and aggression” against the people of Kashmir that has become the norm in power circles of New Delhi and is propagated through most of its vicious electronic media to poison the minds of Indians and mislead them regarding the Kashmir dispute.
Mirwaiz also told the delegation that the situation of Kashmir is one of extreme oppression. “Killing, blinding, maiming, torture, arrests and detention are the order of the day. The situation is so frustrating that even young students are hitting the roads each day to resist occupation .He said the recent incident of using a Kashmiri youth as a human shield by an army officer and his honoring by the authorities clearly defines the Government of India’s perspective regarding Kashmir and how to deal with it,” he said.
Mirwaiz later told reporters that Hurriyat will welcome any initiative between India and Pakistan on Kashmir. After meeting the delegation, Mani Shankar Aiyar spoke to media and said the delegation is not sponsored by Cental Government and they have come to Kashmir at their own. “We are not a government delegation. We have come here to listen to everyone’s suggestion. Abdul Majeed (of Hurriyat) participated in our round table programme which made us enthusiastic about meeting some (separatist) people.. And today we have held our meeting here,” he said.
Aiyar said the delegation members listened to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and “we were in need of listening to him whom we have heard”. Soon after the meeting, the delegation met hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani at his Hyderpora residence. Geelani also welcomed the delegation and briefed him about the situation about the prevailing situation in presence of his deputies including son-in-law Altaf Shah.
Geelani told the delegation that the people of Kashmir are not enemies of India. “We are your well-wishers. We want your betterment and…don’t want your destruction,” he said. Geelani also briefed delegation about civilian killings, arrests and student protests. “The peaceful ties between India and Pakistan will remain a distant dream until the commitment with people is fulfilled and issue resolved as per their aspirations,” he told the delegation members. The delegation told Geelani that they have come to listen to him. After concluding meeting, Geelani accompanied the members to their vehicle.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik refused to meet the delegation. Last year, Malik unlike Geelani and Mirwaiz had refused to meet Yashwant Sinha-led delegation too. The delegation members however called on Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chairman Shabir Shah at his Sanat Nagar residence and held discussion about the prevailing Kashmir situation.
During the meeting, Shah while putting forward his viewpoint, said: “We are not in favour of strained relations between India and Pakistan but demand justifiable solution to Kashmir dispute which has been the bone of contention between the two nuclear neighbouring nations.” Shabir Ahmad Shah told the delegation that “we’re not scared of dialogue but are of the view that it should be tripartite and unconditional”.
“If New Delhi says it won’t hold talks, we too are not begging for the same. This brings home the point that Indian leadership has no valid point. The international community needs to play its role on Kashmir and take steps to bring all the stakeholder of this dispute on a resolution table,” he said.
Mani Shankar Aiyar said that pen is the weapon of the delegation and they will write once they will go to Delhi. “What we can do is we can go to Delhi and write with our pen which is our weapon,” he said, adding that they have not come on the behest of Bhartiya Janata Party or are not being supported by it. “We have come for ourselves and we have come to increase our knowledge,” he said.
The delegation led by Aiyar called on both Governor NN Vohra and CM Mehbooba Mufti separately. An official spokesman said the delegation of Centre for Peace and Progress comprising Mani Shankar Aiyar, O.P. Shah, Kapil Kak, Vinod Sharma, Khalid Tufail and I D Khajuria, met Governor N N Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here today.
“Members of the delegation, who had participated in a conference on Kashmir and also met leaders of various segments of the society, apprised the Governor about their views regarding the restoration of peace in the State. They strongly urged that a meaningful and uninterrupted dialogue with all stakeholders must be started without any further delay for bringing about sustained normalcy in the Kashmir Valley,” the spokesman said.
Governor appreciated the initiatives of the Centre for Peace and Progress and thanked the delegation for their valuable contribution towards the restoration of normalcy in the State, he said. The spokesman said that the delegation this evening had an extensive discussion on wide ranging issues pertaining to Jammu & Kashmir with the Chief Minister.
“Members of the delegation informed the Chief Minister about the impressions of their visit to the Valley. Mehbooba Mufti appreciated the initiative taken by them and informed them that she has been advocating for long that dialogue and peaceful means of engagement are the only ways ahead to get the issues resolved. The Chief Minister thanked the delegation for taking interest in the difficulties being faced by the people of the State,” the spokesman said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel