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Hurriyat leaders to sort out differences in crucial meet

The forthcoming executive meet of the separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference is going to be a stormy one, believe insiders. The ceasefire announcement by the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appears to have acted as a trigger to bring to surface some divergent perceptions within the separatist conglomerate.

The recent visit of the senior APHC leader Abdul Gani Lone to Pakistan and his statement lambasting those who fail to 'grab the initiative' has triggered a controversy in Srinagar.

Lone who favours talks for some immediate solution to the problem had also asked the foreign militants to leave Jammu and Kashmir.

On the other hand, in sharp contrast to this 'exigency for settlement' exhibited by Abdul Gani Lone, the fire brand Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani believes that the 'fight against Indian occupation must continue till its logical conclusion'.

Geelani on Saturday questioned 'the presence of APHC executive members in New Delhi'.

"They are begging to be allowed to visit Pakistan," the Jamaat Leader said adding "I don't know why they want to go there when Pakistan has been supporting our right to self determination."

Geelani says that the current unilateral ceasefire will make no difference if 'it is not followed by concrete steps to resolve the long pending dispute'.

Dukhtarani Milat chief Asiya Andrabi too lambasted Lone saying 'those who ignore the role of foreign militants are ungrateful'.

Perched precariously between these two extremely irreconcilable viewpoints, is APHC chairman Prof. Abdul Gani Butt. He is politically committed to Kashmir's merger with Pakistan, which is the agenda of his party Muslim Conference, but as a known moderate he is reported to be a strong advocate for a dialogue.

Prof. Bhat recently said, "It is only through a dialogue that a meaningful settlement can be reached. Unless we talk what nothing can be achieved."

Prof Bhat is being supported by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yaseen Malik whose latest statements indicate that he sees a ray of hope, however feeble in the prime minister's ceasefire offer.

In this backdrop, the APHC executive is scheduled to meet in Srinagar next week.

The meeting is going to be crucial for more than one reason - it would have to prove that the differences among the APHC leaders are only superficial. It shall also have to put forth a firm reaction to the ceasefire offer and spell out the conglomerate's future course.

But all this if the umbrella group stays in one piece, says political observers in Srinagar. The wavering by New Delhi and Ialamabad about how dialogue must initially begin is also going to weigh heavily during the ensuing executive meet

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