SRINAGAR, Aug 16: Senior separatist leader and chairman of the hard-line faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani has reacted strongly to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s offer to separatists for talks with the Indian leadership in New Delhi.
In a strong-worded statement issued by the conglomerate, Abdullah “a pawn” and has been told “not to interfere” in the dialogue issue.
In his Independence Day speech at the heavily guarded Bakshi stadium, Abdullah had asked separatists to get ready for talks with New Delhi and had said that neither gun nor mere economic measures would help resolve the Kashmir issue.
However the hard-line separatists seem none too pleased with the proposal. “New Delhi is enough for us to invite (to talks) and he is merely a pawn at the hands of New Delhi and shouldn’t interfere in this issue,” a Hurriyat spokesperson said on Thursday.
The separatist leader has also criticized Abdullah over his advice to shun violence.
“He should make this appeal to New Delhi which has deployed 7 lakh troops in Kashmir valley for holding the territory. He terms 2012 as peaceful year when the armed forces have killed a number of innocent civilians in staged gun battles with Hilal Ahmad Dar of Aloosa, Bandipora being the latest victim,” he said.
“If he had any moral standing, he would have made a mention of these killings in his August 15 speech and reprimanded armed forces who perpetrated these cold blooded murders,” he said.
