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Hurriyat mum over India's
no to tripartite talks

The Hurriyat Conference Wednesday said it was in no hurry to react to India's refusal to include Pakistan in any negotiations over Jammu and Kashmir.

An Indian foreign office spokesman Tuesday ruled out tripartite talks over J&K while emphasising the country's commitment to an "early" resumption of dialogue with Islamabad.

Pakistan has already said it would exercise maximum restraint on the Line of Control and would have no objection if India held talks with Kashmiri groups.

"We are in no hurry to react to the stand taken by New Delhi. Let our full executive meet in Srinagar, we will make our stand public only after that," Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat told PTI.

The Hurriyat Conference has said it is ready to open a dialogue with the Centre provided this led to tripartite negotiations to resolve the issue.

Bhat, along with former Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Yaseen Malik and other lower-rung leaders met Pakistan High Commissioner Qazi Ashraf Jehangir Tuesday night at an Iftar party and discussed the future course of action on Kashmir.

Bhat refused to divulge details of the meeting.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, meanwhile, has welcomed the announcement of "maximum restraint" by Pakistan along the LoC in response to the Ramzan ceasefire declared by India.

"A dialogue between the two neighbours is possible only when Islamabad stops trans-border terrorism," he said.

If all goes well, the ceasefire announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could lead to a second summit between India and Pakistan, Abdullah told reporters after addressing a National Conference rally in commemoration of the 95th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on Tuesday.

PTI

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