Name political authority, then we can talk: Hurriyat chief

Hurriyat chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said today that he wouldn’t mind a dialogue with New Delhi provided the Centre appoints an ‘&#1...

Hurriyat chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said today that he wouldn’t mind a dialogue with New Delhi provided the Centre appoints an ‘‘appropriate political authority to conduct the talks,’’ and the entire process is ‘‘transparent.’’

A third condition, he said, was that the Centre must accept, in principle, that the Hurriyat could talk to Pakistan at a ‘‘later stage.’’

Bhat is in Delhi for what he calls a ‘‘farewell visit’’ before he quits the post of Hurriyat chairman by the month-end.

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‘‘There’s tremendous pressure from all sides,’’ Bhat said, referring to growing international interest in resolving Indo-Pak tensions. ‘‘But there is also a lot of haze and I still trying to find out wether Kashmiris figure somewhere in their scheme of things.’’

Asked if he would seek another term, he said: ‘‘I am tired and I also believe that others should be given a chance.’’ Sources said he had met Track Two activists on Kashmir during his four-day stay in Delhi.

One of them said that the Hurriyat was keen for ‘‘delinking elections and peace talks.’’ And that Bhat prefers a ‘‘structured dialogue— open talks with an agenda and not through a ‘fleet’ of mediators.’’