United Jehad Council rejects quiet dialogue on Kashmir
By IANSTuesday, December 1, 2009
SRINAGAR - The United Jehad Council (UJC), a conglomerate of guerrilla outfits based in Pakistani Kashmir, has rejected the proposed “quiet dialogue” between the Indian government and Kashmiri separatist leaders.
In an interview to a prominent English daily newspaper, Syed Sallahuddin, the Muzaffarabad-based chief of Hizbul Mujahideen and the man who heads the UJC, said: “Dialogue at any level should include all the stakeholders in the Kashmir dispute.
“Kashmir is not an economic enterprise for which discussions can be held in secret meetings. Those would be futile.”
The guerrilla commander said: “Quiet diplomacy or secret meetings would serve no purpose as any discussion aimed at resolution of the Kashmir dispute involved the political destiny of 1.3 million Kashmiris.”
Syed Ali Geelani, the hardline senior separatist leader and chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat group, had also rejected the proposed dialogue between Kashmiri separatist leaders of the moderate Hurriyat group headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the central government.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram had said the proposed dialogue would be held away from the media glare in order to make it result oriented.
The UJC chief said dialogue for resolution of the Kashmir dispute must be transparent and tripartite and therefore it cannot be held away from the media glare. The people of Kashmir had a right to know what was being said or done about their political future.
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has suspended all office bearers of the moderate Hurriyat group and issued instructions to its constituents not to issue any statements regarding the dialogue process at an individual level.
