To build on talks, Hurriyat gets US team to visit Valley and work on critics

Going all out to ensure that their dialogue process with New Delhi moves forward, the Hurriyat Conference today met three top US Embassy off...

Going all out to ensure that their dialogue process with New Delhi moves forward, the Hurriyat Conference today met three top US Embassy officials to brief them on their talks with the Centre. And to urge them to talk to other separatist groups who are not on board yet.

Sources said the meeting took place at a private location in New Delhi and after the meeting, the three US officials told the Hurriyat that they would visit Srinagar latest by early next week.

The US delegation is expected to meet Yasin Malik’s JKLF and Shabbir Shah-led Democratic Freedom Party, two groups that have stayed away from the talks saying New Delhi needs to first acknowledge the ‘‘disputed’’ nature of Kashmir.The delegation will meet officials from the Army and the state government, especially Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

Story continues below this ad

Sources said US officials thought the involvement of other separatist groups will make the dialogue more credible and meaningful, a point which the Hurriyat itself made to both DPM L K Advani and the PM when they met this week.

The meeting with the US team comes a day after the Hurriyat team sought help from Iranian diplomats in New Delhi to impress upon Islamabad the need for supporting the dialogue process.

Donald Trump may replace H-1B lottery with wage-based selection process

World9 hr ago

Days after hiking the fees for new H-1B applications to $100,000, the Donald Trump administration has proposed to overhaul the visa process for high-skilled non-immigrant workers. The Trump administration has suggested a wage-based selection process for the H-1B programme, instead of the current lottery system.

View all shorts

Live Blog