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Hurriyat refuses to change team

Despite severe reservations over pronouncements of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the Hurriyat Conference Tuesday refused to make any change in its team including Geelani for a visit to Pakistan and said its selection was final.

"If a change is effected, it will certainly not be in the interest of either India or Pakistan or for that matter in the interest of people of Jammu and Kashmir," Hurriyat Conference Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said.

His reaction came amid reports that the Centre was ready to allow Hurriyat Conference leaders to travel to Pakistan sans the senior Jamaat functionary.

Even the Hurriyat Conference had sought JeI's comments whether Geelani was toeing the Jamaat line in the amalgam and whether the religious party would like to replace him from the conglomerate.

The amalgam had announced that Geelani would head the team to Pakistan, which would also comprise former chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Abdul Ghani Lone, Maulana Abbas Ansari and Sheikh Aziz.

Mirwaiz Farooq, Lone and Aziz have the travel documents while Ansari's has been impounded, which could be restored.

Accepting that there were some difficulties, Bhat said "We do concede that there are complexities involved in the situation."

The Hurriyat chairman said these complexities were likely to come up for discussion "but we will, as the peace-makers, proceed ahead notwithstanding these complexities".

Referring to the suggestion of Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah inviting all groups including Hurriyat Conference leaders for a dialogue, Bhat said, "We do not want to go by his (Abdullah's) suggestion."

Abdullah had said the talks would be a concrete follow-up to the ceasefire announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in November last year.

The Hurriyat Conference, however, spelt out a totally different follow-up measure to the peace process.

"The Hurriyat Conference considers that the Centre is committed as far as the Hurriyat's visit to Pakistan is concerned," Bhat said.

He said if and when the Hurriyat Conference goes to Pakistan, it will be talking and obviously consolidating the peace process. "As soon as we get back, we will engage in a dialogue with the Centre," Bhat added.

"This is what is going to constitute the purposeful follow-up exercise to the ceasefire," he added.

PTI

The Kashmir Cease-Fire: The Complete Coverage

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