JOIN USReacting on the appointments, JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said: “We were expecting that the interlocutors would be from the various political parties in which the Congress, BJP and the leftist parties would be also included. But this did not happen and we are disappointed.”
Other separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Chairman of moderate Hurriyat Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have called the appointments a “meaningless exercise” that showed the Centre’s careless approach to solving the Kashmir issue.
“By appointing the mediators, the Government of India gave proof for its non-seriousness towards the solution of Kashmir issue. Since Kashmir is a big issue, the Central government must accept my five conditions.
“The conditions include accepting Kashmir as disputed, delmilitarisation, revoking of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), release of prisoners and tripartite talks between India, Pakistan and Kashmiris for implementing UN resolutions on Kashmir,” he said, rejecting any talks with the interlocutors.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said he was not against talks, but any dialogue on the issue must be productive. “We held several rounds of talks with the NDA government and later with UPA government in the past,” he said.
“We want a meaningful dialogue. Our struggle will continue and the Centre must accept our five-point formula that includes phased withdrawal of troops from civilian areas, withdrawal of AFSPA and related laws, end to human rights violations and release of Kashmiri prisoners,” he said.