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Dukhtaran opposes Hurriyat's visit to Pakistan

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Dukhtaran-i-Millat, a leading separatist group of women in Kashmir, has strongly opposed the proposed visit to Pakistan of an All-Parties Hurriyat Conference delegation.

Asiya Andrabi, firebrand chief of the Dukhtaran-i-Millat (Daughters of the Nation), told a press conference in Srinagar on Thursday evening that the Hurriyat leaders had no agenda. "They will be carrying forward the agenda of the Government of India for restoration of peace and normalcy in Kashmir by forcing the jihadi groups to accept the ceasefire announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee," she said.

New Delhi, Andrabi said, "wants to come out of the present situation faced by it in Kashmir in the wake of militancy".

She said that even if the APHC leaders helped in the restoration of peace and normalcy in Kashmir as per the government's wishes, her organisation would not recognise it as the sole representative body of Kashmiris.

Andrabi said jihadi groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammadi, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Al-Badr would not accept the ceasefire in Kashmir. "These frontline groups will announce their future strategy within the next few days," she said.

According to Andrabi, these are the only outfits playing a positive role in the Kashmir struggle and it was wrong to say that they comprise only foreigners. "There are local militants also among these groups," she claimed.

While she did not doubt the credentials of the Hizbul Mujahideen, the front-ranking Kashmiri militant organisation, she said the Hizb's operations chief in Kashmir, Abdul Majeed Dar, had "deviated from the right path".

Andrabi said the Hizb was issuing conflicting statements. "We are watching its supreme commander, Syed Salahuddin."

The Dukhtaran chief said the "international status" of the Kashmir dispute would be harmed if the Hurriyat began negotiations with New Delhi. She said the dispute could only be resolved after India accepted Kashmir as disputed territory and involved Pakistan in the talks.

She lashed out at senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone who had recently asked foreign mercenaries to leave Kashmir. "He must stop his propaganda against the foreign militants immediately," she warned.

The Government's Ceasefire: The complete coverage

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