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Pakistan invites APHC leaders

* Hurriyat leaders can travel by Kashmir bus on June 2
* APHC confirms invitation

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has invited All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders in Jammu and Kashmir to visit AJK and Pakistan by the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus on June 2 and hopes that there will be no restriction from India.

Talking to reporters at his weekly briefing on Monday, Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jillani said the government and people of Pakistan and AJK had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hurriyat leaders. Travel on the new bus requires only a state permit and he was hopeful Indian authorities would let them come to Pakistan on the bus. The spokesman said all APHC leaders including Syed Ali Geelani had been invited to Pakistan and hoped they would not face any problems as the bus service was meant to facilitate travel by Kashmiris.

He also said APHC leaders would be welcome to visit any part of Pakistan. APHC leader Abdul Ghani Bhat told AFP on Monday that the invitation from Pakistan was received a few days ago. “The invitation has been conveyed to us verbally by Pakistan. We will meet shortly to discuss the invite.”

He said Indian opposition leader LK Advani would also visit Pakistan on May 30 after being invited by Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri. During his stay in Pakistan, Advani would call on President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, he said.

The spokesman said India and Pakistan would hold talks on Siachen on Thursday and Friday followed by two-day talks on Sir Creek. He refuted an Indian government report, saying there was absolutely no cross-Line of Control movement and the fact had been repeatedly acknowledged by India.

He said what was going on in Jammu and Kashmir was in response to the massive repression of Kashmiris by Indian security forces. The spokesman said India and Pakistan had crossed the stage of discussing the Baglihar Dam issue bilaterally. “The World Bank has already appointed a neutral expert whose findings will be binding on both parties,” he said. He hoped that India would cooperate with the expert. The spokesman said Pakistan would only allow the import of items on the positive list from India. He said the commerce secretaries of both countries were looking into all aspects of trade related issues including tariff and non-tariff barriers as well as bureaucratic hurdles in India that impeded Pakistani exports despite granting Pakistan the Most Favoured Nation status. He said US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca would be in Pakistan for three days starting from tomorrow. staff report

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