Hurriyat chief is positive, downplays DPM remark, waits for call

Hurriyat chairman Maulvi Abbas Ansari today raised hopes over the Centre’s peace initiative by saying that Deputy Prime Minister L K Ad...

Hurriyat chairman Maulvi Abbas Ansari today raised hopes over the Centre’s peace initiative by saying that Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani’s recent comment—on the talks being about decentralisation of power—did cause ‘‘hurdles’’ but it should be seen in ‘‘context.’’ And ‘‘everything depends on the invitation letter’’ that the Hurriyat is waiting for.

‘‘We don’t need to take his (Advani’s) comment seriously,’’ Ansari told The Indian Express. ‘‘There is a context to it. It is election time for them and he was talking at an ITBP function.’’

‘‘Talks will take place in any case,’’ Ansari said underlining: ‘‘We are waiting for the formal invitation.’’

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After several failed bids, the Centre recently offered to open a dialogue with the Hurriyat and named Advani as Delhi’s pointperson, thereby involving the ‘‘highest political level’’ in the talks for the first time.

However, Advani’s comment that ‘‘talks would be regarding the decentralisation of power,’’ led to an angry reaction from separatistswho have been demanding ‘‘unconditional’’ negotiations on the Kashmir issue.

Ansari, who leads the moderates in the separatist conglomerate that has recently split, said that Advani’s comment did ‘‘slowed down’’ the process of generating a consensus among the separatists.

‘‘But we are hopeful that the invitation will come — a written invitation —which will put the record straight. The talks have to be unconditional,’’ he said.

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Although Ansari, who returned from New Delhi yesterday, denied that the Centre has contacted the Hurriyat sources said he has been told, in private, that negotiations will have no pre-conditions and a formal invitation is likely to come any time after the December 1 polls.

Ansari said he was hopeful that a serious and meaningful dialogue will start soon. ‘‘We have hope. They (the Centre) have come up with a 12-point peace proposal with Pakistan as well. It is moving forward,’’ he said. ‘‘We have an agenda. It is a Kashmir agenda and we will stick to that. India and Pakistan have several issues to talk about but we remain the key. We represent neither India nor Pakistan. We will talk of Kashmir alone,’’ Ansari said.

His optimism, however, is not shared by all leaders in his camp. The hardliners, who call themselves the ‘‘real’’ Hurriyat, have been cold saying they were not directly invited by the Centre.

‘‘We cannot afford to take Advani’s comment lightly. If he thinks the talks will be within the ambit of the Indian Constitution, then there is no way we can join them,’’ said a senior Hurriyat leader, who is also part of the Ansari camp.