Hurriyat speaks as India seethes
20 Aug 2014 5:49 AM IST
While in New Delhi, hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani met the Pakistan high commissioner on Tuesday, in Islamabad Pakistan reacted strongly saying it was ‘not subservient’ to New Delhi and was a ‘legitimate stakeholder’ in the Kashmir dispute. The remarks came after India called off talks by telling Pakistan bluntly to choose between an Indo-Pak dialogue or hobnobbing with separatists.
Geelani, meanwhile, told reporters in New Delhi that Narendra Modi government’s decision to cancel the India-Pakistan foreign secretary level talks was unfortunate. ‘We have been visiting Pakistan embassy several times to hold talks. The decision to cancel foreign secretary-level talks is undemocratic,’ Geelani said.
‘The issue of Jammu and Kashmir is an international issue and it should be solved. As long as promises made to us are not fulfilled, this issue will remain unsolved,’ said Geelani. Moderate Hurriyat faction leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the Indian government has over-reacted.
‘New Delhi over-reacted on the issue... There has to be a peaceful, political resolution to the Kashmir issue,’ Farooq told a news channel. On Monday, the Modi government called off the 25 August foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan terming as unacceptable ‘the continued efforts to interfere’ in its internal affairs. India had conveyed its decision to call off the talks following Basit’s meeting with separatist Kashmiri leader Shabir Shah Monday.
Despite the cancellation, the separatist leaders have decided to go ahead with their scheduled meeting with the Pakistan high commissioner. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Mohammad Yasin Malik are also scheduled to meet Basit.
Arguing that High Commissioner Abdul Basit did not interfere in India’s internal affairs, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam claimed in Islamabad that Kashmir was not part of India. ‘That is just a pretext. It was not the first time that meetings with Hurriyat leaders took place. It is been happening for decades,’ Tasnim said.
She was replying to foreign secretary Sujatha Singh telling Basit not to go ahead with the meeting in New Delhi and to choose between dialogue with India or with the Kashmiri separatists. ‘The high commissioner of Pakistan did not interfere in India’s internal affairs. Pakistan is not subservient to India. It is a sovereign country, a legitimate stakeholder in the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,’ she said.
Aslam, who has previously served in India, asserted that ‘Kashmir is a disputed territory.’ Pakistan had on Monday described the cancellation of next week’s foreign secretary-level talks as a ‘setback’ to Indo-Pak ties.
Geelani, meanwhile, told reporters in New Delhi that Narendra Modi government’s decision to cancel the India-Pakistan foreign secretary level talks was unfortunate. ‘We have been visiting Pakistan embassy several times to hold talks. The decision to cancel foreign secretary-level talks is undemocratic,’ Geelani said.
‘The issue of Jammu and Kashmir is an international issue and it should be solved. As long as promises made to us are not fulfilled, this issue will remain unsolved,’ said Geelani. Moderate Hurriyat faction leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the Indian government has over-reacted.
‘New Delhi over-reacted on the issue... There has to be a peaceful, political resolution to the Kashmir issue,’ Farooq told a news channel. On Monday, the Modi government called off the 25 August foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan terming as unacceptable ‘the continued efforts to interfere’ in its internal affairs. India had conveyed its decision to call off the talks following Basit’s meeting with separatist Kashmiri leader Shabir Shah Monday.
Despite the cancellation, the separatist leaders have decided to go ahead with their scheduled meeting with the Pakistan high commissioner. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Mohammad Yasin Malik are also scheduled to meet Basit.
Arguing that High Commissioner Abdul Basit did not interfere in India’s internal affairs, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam claimed in Islamabad that Kashmir was not part of India. ‘That is just a pretext. It was not the first time that meetings with Hurriyat leaders took place. It is been happening for decades,’ Tasnim said.
She was replying to foreign secretary Sujatha Singh telling Basit not to go ahead with the meeting in New Delhi and to choose between dialogue with India or with the Kashmiri separatists. ‘The high commissioner of Pakistan did not interfere in India’s internal affairs. Pakistan is not subservient to India. It is a sovereign country, a legitimate stakeholder in the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,’ she said.
Aslam, who has previously served in India, asserted that ‘Kashmir is a disputed territory.’ Pakistan had on Monday described the cancellation of next week’s foreign secretary-level talks as a ‘setback’ to Indo-Pak ties.
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