Political parties welcome Kashmir initiative, hardline Hurriyat says eyewash

New Delhi/Srinagar, Sept 25 (PTI) The eight-point Centre's
initiative to address the unrest in Kashmir valley in northern
India was Saturday welcomed by the mainstream and regional
parties in Jammu and Kashmir state as a "positive development"
and "good beginning" while the hardline Hurriyat group
dismissed it as a "mere eyewash".
The moderate Hurriyat faction headed by Mirwaiz Umar
Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman
Mohammad Yaseen Malik maintained a studied silence to the
announcements made by Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Political parties hoped the initiative will help resolve
the political issues in Jammu and Kashmir and reciprocated by
the people of the state.
J and K Chief Minister and National Conference party
leader Omar Abdullah welcomed the move and expressed the hope
that these steps would ultimately lead to resolving political
issues in the state.
"The Centre's Kashmir initiative is a positive
development and must lead to a resolution to all political
issues of Jammu and Kashmir," Omar, who is in the national
capital, told reporters.
Omar also said the appointment of interlocutors to
start dialogue with civil society was a welcome step.
J and K's main opposition party People's Democratic
Party said the initiative is definitely a good beginning but
felt more needed to be done.
"It is definitely a good beginning but more needs to be
done to regain the trust of the people," PDP chief
spokesperson Nayeem Akhtar told PTI.
He said the the steps announced by Chidambaram should
lead to more confidence building steps, which would result in
the revival of the 2003 peace process.
Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani said "none of
our demands have been considered by Government of India and
the foremost among those was accepting Jammu and Kashmir as a
disputed territory." Geelani's response where he said the
initiative was a "mere eyewash" came in a video posted on
social networking site Youtube.
Umer Farooq and Yaseen Malik said they would react only
after discussing the issues among their own parties.
Congress said the initiative was a very holistic and
well thought out package and hoped this will be reciprocated
and responded to by the people of J and K.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in New
Delhi the steps coverred the "entire spectrum of political,
economic, social and security aspects".
He said the youth of the state should see the
announcement in the spirit it has been done and react in a
positive manner.
The main opposition Bhartiya Janata Party said it would
support all steps which are "anti-separatists and
pro-citizens".
"BJP favours return of normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir. It
has always stood for strong signals being sent to separatists
that India shall not compromise on its sovereignty under any
circumstances," the party said in a statement in New Delhi.
"We shall not accept any dilution of the provisions of
Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Obviously, even para-military
forces require the protection of this Act in areas such as
Srinagar," it added.
Senior NC leader Mehboob Baig said, "Though rather
late, It is a good beginning. Huge confidence building
measures one after another are needed to create a conducive
atmosphere for talks with all sections of society to find a
solution to Kashmir issue." PTI TEAM
SAK


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