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Journalism of Courage
The ruling National Conference in J-K may have heaved a sigh of relief when Defence Minister George Fernandes today said that the Centre has no plans to invite the All Parties Hurriyat Conference for talks.
‘‘We had invited them earlier during the visit of Centre’s interlocutor K.C. Pant to Kashmir, but they did not respond,’’ Fernandes told mediapersons at Jammu airport when asked whether Centre’s proposal for talks with Hurriyat Conference does not mean isolation of the NC.
‘‘We are not considering any such proposal,’’ he said, adding ‘‘the Government of India has taken a strong stand’’ after Hurriyat rejected its offer for talks. Its former chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani is already in the jail, he pointed out.
Clarifying his yesterday’s statement in the Valley, Fernandes said he was asked by mediamen about his reaction to the Hurriyat’s offer for talks. ‘‘And, I had told them that it can be considered,’’ he said, adding that the question of Hurriyat leaders going to Pakistan did not arise at all.
