Separatist leader Geelani wants ‘meaningful dialogue’ with Government of India

SRINAGAR - Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said here today that he wants to hold meaningful and result-orientated dialogue with the Government of India.

Geelani met an eleven-member political delegation, comprising representatives of seven political groups and three civil society members in Srinagar.

“We have also said that we are not against the dialogue but the dialogue should be result-orientated, meaningful and should be according to the present scenario of Kashmir. Solutions should be decided according to the sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, otherwise nothing can be achieved, as there already have been over 150 rounds of dialogue,” said Geelani.

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan called the house arrest of Geelani “sad” and said the delegation would take up the issue in Parliament.

“In the five-point programme, we have said that whether Kashmir is a disputed region or not, this might be a reason for problem for the government. Any Indian can have a problem. But the rest of the four points should be made a base or a platform for the dialogue,” said Paswan.

“There are so many people detained under the Public Safety Act. How many have they released? What will happen to their careers? From how many places have they removed the bunkers? The saddest news we got is that Geelaniji was under house arrest, and if it’s true, we would take this up in the Parliament,” he added.

The delegation is on a three-day visit and met people of different shades of opinion, including the separatist leaders.

The team also met Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Mohammed Yasin Malik and would be meeting moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

The team has termed the trip as a confidence building measure that would suggest social, political and economic measures towards peace in Kashmir.

The delegation comprises Ram Vilas Paswan and Shoaib Iqbal of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Gopal Choudary of Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M), D. Raja of Communist party of India, Namo Nageshwar Rao of Telgu Desham Party, Danish Ali of Janta Dal - Secular (JD-S), Maheshwar Hazari of Janta Dal- United (JD-U), Shahid Siddiqui of Rashtriya Lok Dal, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, journalist Seema Mustafa and academician Professor Kamal Chenoy. By Parvez Butt (ANI)