Rejecting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s invitation to join the talks with the all-party delegation of Parliamentarians, Hurriyat leaders on Sunday said that “delegation does not have a clear agenda.”
“One fails to understand what hope to attach with a delegation which has neither spelled out its mandate for any engagement on a clear agenda,” a joint statement issued by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik said.
An all party delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh landed in Srinagar today for a two-day visit and held talks with Mrhbooba Mufti and other senior ministers.
The delegation is expected to interact with a cross section of people.
On Saturday, Mehbooba wrote letters to separatist leaders in her capacity as PDP chief, requesting them to “take a lead and engage” with the delegation, “which will be the start of a credible and meaningful political dialogue and resolution process.”
"I write to you in my capacity as the President of the J&K Peoples Democratic Party and request you to take the lead and engage with the All Party Delegation of Parliamentarians visiting the state tomorrow,” she said.
"This will be the start of a credible and meaningful political dialogue and resolution process to end the stalemate," Mehbooba wrote in the letter addressed to the separatists' leaders, who are in custody.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is in the Cheshma Shahi sub-jail, Yasin Malik in an undisclosed prison, Shabir Shah in the Rajbagh Police Station and Syed Ali Shah Geelani under strict house arrest.
Mehbooba asked separatists to “indicate a time and place of your convenience for an exchange of ideas with the delegation”.
Mehbooba not ‘clear in her head’, should have released Hurriyat leaders: Omar Abudllah
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said that Mehbooba should have released the Hurriyat leaders if she was serious about talks but she "was not clear in her own head" about the way forward.
"As CM she arrests them (separatists) and as @jkpdp president she invites them to talk and then we wonder why Kashmir burns!!!!
"When the CM of J-K isn't clear in her own head about the way forward how do we expect her government to react and act as a cohesive unit?" Omar said in a series of tweets late last night.
However, Omar, the former chief minister, said instead of releasing the letter to the media, Mehbooba should have released the separatists who are under detention.
"Instead of releasing her letter to the press @MehboobaMufti should have released the detained Hurriyat leaders if she was serious about talks," the NC working President said.
He said even as some of the separatist leaders were in jail, the chief minister asked them to suggest time and place to meet the delegation.
"Mirwaiz (Umar Farooq) is in a Government sub-jail, Yasin (Malik) is in central jail, others are spread in various prisons and she asks them to suggest the time & place!!!" Omar
said.
Taking a jibe, the former chief minister said Mehbooba should instead furnish a list of the jails where the separatists were lodged and notify the visiting hours to the delegation to allow them to meet the separatists.
"She should just give a list of the prisons used and the official visiting hours to the delegation and allow them to visit the detainees," Omar said.
