Hizbul in Valley breaks silence with a cautious welcome

“It shows that both the countries have started realising the seriousnessof the Kashmir issue and the need for its permanent resolution,” Dar said in a statement here today.

“The Hizb leadership (both in India and Pakistan) is in close contact to decide whether to cooperate in this process or not. And the decision will not be on the basis of rigidity or ego but on merit,” Dar said.

Dar said that although the Hizbul had not stopped its jehad, it was carefully watching the developments.

“The Hizbul Mujahideen has an important role in the permanent settlement of the Kashmir dispute and it cannot be sidelined…If the two important parties to the dispute move forward towards a final resolution, taking into account the aspirations of Kashmiris, and weigh the issue now in the parameters of humanity rather than petty politics, Kashmiris will definitely co-operate,” he said.

Dar’s positive response comes barely two days after a hard-hitting rejection statement by the Hizbul’s spokesman in Pakistan, Saleem Hashmi. “The ceasefire was a drama. Now its extension was the second scene of the same drama,” Hashmi was quoted by a news agency.

And in an indication that hardline voices were also trying to get heard, even today, the Hizbul’s district commander Abdul Basit, at the Friday prayers in Jamia Masjid, rejected the ceasefire as a “ploy to deceive the international community and the Indian Muslims.”

Basit, who was masked and armed with an AK-47, said that his group had no objection to the Hurriyat leadesrhip visiting Pakistan. “But the Kashmir dispute has only one solution that is accession with Pakistan,” he said.

Let Hurriyat go to Pak: all parties

* BJP: Vice president of the state unit Abdul Rashid Kabuli: “You can’t ignore the fact that Hurriyat wields clout in militant outfits. Even the Laskhar-e-Toiba chief has called Abdul Gani Bhat. The visit will break the ice.”

* NC: “Will the National Conference, Congress or any other party evoke such a response from militants in Pakistan? What’s wrong if it helps break the ice,” says general secy Shiekh Nazir.

* CPI(M): “The Hurriyat is the apex body of militant groups. If they want an audience with the militant leadership to reciprocate the ceasefire, they should be allowed,” says senior leader Muhammad Amin Dar felt.

* Congress: PCC chief Muhammad Shafi Qureshi said he supports the idea of parties, including Hurriyat, first talking among themselves and then engaging India and Pakistan separately.