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Manmohan meets Sajjad Lone

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held on Saturday an hour-long meeting with a five-member delegation of a People’s Conference faction led by Sajjad Lone, the younger son of slain Kashmiri leader Abdul Gani Lone.

Both sides refused to divulge details except to describe the talks as “positive” and held in “a constructive and friendly environment” and that these talks would continue further. No dates were fixed for the next meeting.

This is for the first time that the government has chosen to talk to the pro-freedom camp other than the moderate Hurriyat Conference. Though the prime minister’s office said they had widened the dialogue process, Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq expressed anger, stating that his amalgam, which represented the highest number of political groups in Kashmir, was being sidelined in the peace process after they held the first round of talks in September. He also criticised New Delhi for not honouring the promises made to the Hurriyat in that meeting.

The Hurriyat leaders, who had stopped in Delhi while returning from Islamabad to Srinagar, were told by National Security Advisor MK Narayanan that they would have to wait for their turn as the PM wanted to meet others before resuming dialogue with them. They were also told to present their proposals to Narayanan before discussing them with the prime minister.

Attired in traditional white Kashmiri shalwar kameez, Sajjad Lone went to the prime minister’s residence along with Peer Hafizullah Maqdoomi, Abdul Rashid Lone, Mirwaiz Qazi Yaseen and Rasheed Mehmood. Terming the invitation by New Delhi as “positive”, the younger Lone, who is married to daughter of JKLF chief Amanullah Khan, said he would emphasise inclusive Kashmiri participation in peace talks.

Refusing to disclose details of his meeting, Lone, who broke away from his brother Bilal Lone last year over the issue of keeping People’s Conference in the Hurriyat, underscored the need for instutionalisation of the dialogue process. He said it was the only civilised alternative to conflict.

A prime minister’s office spokesman said that Dr Manmohan Singh told the People’s Conference delegation that he wanted to meet all sections of the public in Jammu and Kashmir who have remained outside the election process and that this was the first such meeting.

Lone said one should not expect short-term results. “Absence of results should not be used as a yardstick for failure or success of the dialogue,” he said.

Asked if inclusiveness also meant including pro-India elected representatives and the state government in the talks, Lone said the prime minister had a lot of opportunities to meet elected representatives. He left it to New Delhi to identify the people who should be included.

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