Divide Kashmir if it works 8212; Hurriyat

When asked if this meant division on religious lines, he said: 8220;You see we can8217;t go to the negotiating table with a closed mind. Our mind is open, provided the solution enjoys the consensus of all the three parties.8221;

He said that even the Dixon plan which envisages dividing Kashmir on religious lines is acceptable if that emerges as a solution.

Does this new stand enjoy Pakistan8217;s approval? 8220;They the Pakistanis are a party to the dispute,8221; said Geelani. 8220;We have stressed that their presence is a prerequiste for the talks.8221;

Reacting to Geelani8217;s remarks, senior executive member of the secessionist coalition Maulvi Abass Ansari said he was for tripartite talks. But when reminded of Geelani8217;s statement on division, the president of the Itehad-ul-Muslimeen said: 8220;That will lead to a situation like in 1947. And that is certainly not going to be peaceful. But if that is acceptable to the concerned parties, we will have no objection,8221; Ansari said.

Yaseen Malik, the staunch proponent of indpendent Kashmir, said he hadnothing to say for the time being on the conference chairman8217;s remarks. 8220;Iwill speak my mind on this but not now,8221; Malik said.

His party, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, has a more or less secular agenda. The proposal to divide the state on religious lines, apparently, does not fit into his party8217;s scheme of things.

Abdul Gani Lone People8217;s Conference was even more evasive. 8220;No commentsright now8221; was all he had to say. The other two executive members MirwaizUmar Farooq Awami Action Committee and Abdul Gani Bhat Muslimconference were not available for comment.

Incidentally, the Hurriyat Conference has all along maintained that there should be no division of Jammu and Kashmir as part of any solution. But Geelani said that Hindus of undivided India were against the division of the nation in 1947 and they termed its division of the 8220;holy cow8221; but still it was divided. Later Pakistan was divided and they had to accept it, Geelani added.

According to agency reports, Geelani added that Hurriyat would have no objections even if a regional three regions of the state, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and Pakistan-held kashmir plebiscite is conducted to ascertain the wishes of the people for determination of their future status.

To a question on whether there was any formal invitation from New Delhi regarding talks with the government, Geelani said it invitation would be discussed in the Hurriyat executive council.

Geelani reiterated the Hurriyat stand that it was in favour of tripartite talks to resolve the Kashmir issue as per the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiris. 8220;It is the people of Kashmir who have to decide about their future8221;, he said, adding 8220;even if they want to stay with India, Hurriyat has no problem.8221; They can stay with Pakistan or remain independent and the choice is theirs, he said.

Geelani admitted that there were some groups who did not want peace to return to Kashmir. Sikhs had been killed in a well-prepared plan at Chattisinghpora, he said, and blamed 8220;Indian agencies8221; for the killing. The killings should stop if India wanted to build a road for dialogue, Geelani said.