Futile to restart Kashmir talks, says Geelani

SRINAGAR - Hawk separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani Wednesday termed as “futile” the government move to name three interlocutors for restarting the stalled peace process in the troubled Jammu and Kashmir.

But Geelani’s colleagues, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik said they would weigh the option before saying yes or no.

“This is a futile exercise. The government of India is acting like deaf and dumb to the Kashmir situation,” Geelani, the hardline Hurriyat leader, told reporters here.

The government earlier Wednesday named journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, Information Commissioner M.M. Ansari and academician Radha Kumar as its new interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir to re-start dialogue with “all shades of political opinion” and help bring peace in the troubled state.

Geelani, who is a passionate supporter of the state’s merger with Pakistan, said any dialogue with New Delhi could be possible only after the government accepts a five-point proposal that includes accepting Kashmir as an “international dispute”.

“We have given the five-point formula. But they are beating about the bush,” he said.

The Mirwaiz said the faction of the Hurriyat he heads would meet Thursday to finalise its response to the government’s move.

“We will meet Thursday to finalise our response,” the young cleric told IANS, refusing to react to the government’s step.

Malik, who favours Jammu and Kashmir as an independent state, also refused to comment but said he would weigh the option “before jumping to any conclusion today”.