Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Geelani has declined to meet the Indian delegation on Kashmir, saying they neither had the mandate nor the “the intention to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute”.
Warding off the parliamentarians who wanted to meet him, he termed talks “another futile exercise”, Hindustan Times reported on Sunday.
An all-party delegation of India, comprising 27 members headed by Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is to hold dialogue with various influential sections in the occupied valley.
At least 70 people have fallen victim to the brutalities of Indian security forces in Kashmir, where the murder of a populist Kashmiri youth leader on July 8 has sparked unrest.
In a statement, Geelani asked India to acknowledge the disputed status of the Kashmir valley and begin demilitarisation to hold a referendum.
“Indian parliamentarians should accept the disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir to pave the way for holding referendum in the state to settle this issue permanently, peacefully and democratically,” he said.
The Hurriyet leader also went on to add that he would welcome any move after India accepted the status of occupied region.
“If India accepts the disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir and starts demilitarisation… we… will welcome every move forward in this regard.”
Geelani has been confined to his house in Srinagar for months now while Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik are also under arrest.
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