Pak tells Hurriyat board the bus, Govt says up to them

Separatist hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani has not received the invite so far but the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat Conference is holding a crucial meeting on Wednesday to decide on the invitation.

‘‘We were intimated by Pakistan over the telephone and we will take a decision in a couple of days and come out with our plan of action,’’ Mirwaiz told The Indian Express.

Though Geelani is yet to receive the invitation, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani, replying to a question in Islamabad, said that Geelani is well regarded in Pakistan and he has been extended the invitation along with others.

‘‘Geelani sahib has not been told about this development so far. But if he gets the invite, the Hurriyat will be holding a Majlis-e-Shoora (highest decision making body) to come out with a response,’’ his spokesman said.

While the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat has welcomed Gen Musharraf’s latest Kashmir formula of ‘‘self governance through maximum autonomy,’’ Geelani has outrightedly rejected it.

Hurriyat executive leader Prof Abdul Gani Bhat said they would like to hold talks with New Delhi before going to Pakistan.

‘‘Since the governments of India and Pakistan are moving closer in view of the improved relations, we should not draw lines between the two now,’’ he said. ‘‘We should be talking purposefully, substantively, and if possible, productively as well,’’ he said.

Bhat said they (Hurriyat) should have ‘‘no hesitation’’ as the Pakistan leadership has already given a go-ahead for negotiations with New Delhi, but added that it was his personal view. Bhat said Hurriyat would also discuss its blueprint with New Delhi and Islamabad. He, however, said that they have yet to apply for the travel permit.

Former chairman and executive member Maulana Abbas Ansari said they were waiting for a formal letter from Pakistan before they decide on the course of action.

Apart from the moderate Hurriyat leadership, JKLF’s Yasin Malik, senior separatist and chairman of Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan, Aga Syed Mehdi, Ghulam Nabi Hubbi and Javid Ahmad Mir have been invited to visit Pakistan.

The decision to encourage political interaction between the two sides of Kashmir was taken during President Musharraf’s visit to New Delhi in April. Both sides were amenable to the interaction as it would lead to exchange of ideas that would support the peace process.

While New Delhi has no intentions of stopping the Hurriyat but it also wants elected representatives of Jammu and Kashmir to also travel to PoK. Even though Musharraf went on record admitting that the elected leaders also represented the opinion of Kashmiri people, spokesman Jilani only talked about Hurriyat as the sole representatives of the Kashmiris today.