Mirwaiz for unity, Geelani apology

The next round of talks between the Centre and the Hurriyat Conference is likely to be delayed, with leaders of the sharply divided conglome...

The next round of talks between the Centre and the Hurriyat Conference is likely to be delayed, with leaders of the sharply divided conglomerate struggling to put up a united front.

While senior Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said today that he was launching ‘‘serious’’ reunification efforts, hardliner Syed Ali Geelani declared that he wanted the Maulana Abbas Ansari faction to apologise first for holding unilateral talks with New Delhi. ‘‘We are busy with our reunification efforts. First, all factions of the Hurriyat will be re-united. Only then will we restart the dialogue process,’’ Mirwaiz told reporters after Friday prayers at Jamia Mosque here. ‘‘I will start the (unification) process and all groups will be contacted so that a cohesive platform is formed to wage a joint struggle for our goal,’’ he said.

The Hurriyat (Ansari faction), which has held two rounds of talks with the Centre since January, has been left without a chairman since Maulana Abbas Ansari resigned on Wednesday to ‘‘pave the way’’ for the group’s unity and asked Mirwaiz to negotiate with other factions. Meanwhile, watched over by policemen who detained him at a village near Handwara — he was to address a gathering of Friday worshippers there — Geelani said: ‘‘We wouldn’t outrightly reject their offer of reconciliation. We would discuss it in our general body meeting.’’

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‘‘They would have to publicly apologise for not launching a poll boycott campaign in the run-up to Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections of 2002 and later holding unilateral dialogue with India,’’ Geelani asserted.

The Hurriyat rift, meanwhile, may force New Delhi to delay the invitation for the third round of talks that was proposed to be held this month.

According to Mirwaiz, the conglomerate might push for a tripartite dialogue to cut the deadlock. ‘‘Every separatist group longs for the participation of New Delhi and Islamabad in the dialogue,’’ he said. Interestingly, the Ittehadi Force, which has remained neutral after the Hurriyat split, is also working towards reunification. But another group — the JKLF, People’s League, Shabir Shah’s Democratic Freedom Party, Kashmir Bar Association and a few other organisations — has not responded so far.

Earlier, Mirwaiz appealed to all groups to re-unite. ‘‘The people are the best judges and they are keeping a close watch on the developments. We hope all groups will feel the pulse of the people and rejoin the Hurriyat Conference,’’ he said.