Talks with Hurriyat leaders not on immediate agenda 8212; Advani

There was no pressure from the United States to release Hurriyat leaders, he said, adding quot;we started working on this much before President Bill Clinton8217;s visitquot;.

quot;We held talks with Nagas and Bodos. We felt it may be in the interest of Kashmir also. A sizeable number of their leaders are in prison and a section of them is against policies of the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir Government,quot; Advani said.

Replying to a question, Advani said he was aware of contradictory statements made by Hurriyat leaders during the last two days including one by Yasin Malik who has opposed holding talks within the framework of Indian Constitution.

Earlier, talking to mediapersons in his BSF aircraft, Advani justified the release of Hurriyat leaders saying it would certainly contain violence in Kashmir valley.

The Government would be in a position to listen to legitimate grievances of Kashmiri people if any and initiate developmental activities in the Valley which had come to a standstill, he said.

quot;To juxtapose this hardline stand, we decided to soften internal dissidence in Kashmir by releasing their leaders,quot; he said.