Moderates of Hizbul faction, Hurriyat get a visitor from US

The issue of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir didn’t crop up, said Feteh. ‘‘Krepon didn’t raise the issue. He spoke about the difficult situation in South Asia, the tension along the Indo-Pak border and the fear of a war.’’ Fateh said both he and Dar told Krepon that ‘‘the people of Kashmir would prefer a war between the two countries so that the issue is resolved once for all.’’

Krepon is said to have given Dar and Fateh a patient hearing, and he made very few suggestions. ‘‘We did our best to convince him about the problems faced by people here. Krepon assured that he would project our point of view,’’ said Fateh.

Krepon, the founder-president of the Henry L Stimson Center in the United States, also met with Hurriyat Conference chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Democratic Freedom Party president Shabir Ahmed Shah and other separatist leaders. He also met with the Army’s 15 Corps Commander Lt Gen V.G. Patankar. ‘‘I informed him about the latest situation here,’’ Patankar said.

Security officials here are keen to counter any speculation that Krepon’s visit and meetings are an indication of third party intervention by the US. ‘‘It’s not like that. We have no objection to such missions. In fact, it only serves our purpose,’’ said a senior officer of a security agency here.

Rather, Krepon’s visit is being seen as an attempt to assess the ground situation rather than engage separatists in any process.

‘‘Although Krepon is not part of any official organ of the US administration, he is highly respected for his insight into South Asian affairs. In fact, his centre is an important American thinktank and influences US policies,’’ an analyst said. ‘‘However, the attack in Jammu has had an adverse impact on such moves.’’