Hurriyat Conference founder chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq met Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf in Holland in September when the Kashmiri separatist leader was travelling to London and Jeddah on a religious trip.
The meeting is seen as a rebuff to Jamaat leader and chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat Conference faction Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has been asking Pakistan to stay away from the Hurriyat's moderate leadership.
The Mirwaiz had fixed the meeting with Musharraf during his stay in Jeddah. The meeting took place in Amsterdam when Musharraf was returning from the United Nations after talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session, Umer told PTI over phone from Srinagar.
The Mirwaiz said the meeting lasted for nearly two hours during which the Pakistani president sought his help in uniting all the separatist leaders under one forum.
"President Musharraf was all praise for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and appreciated his stand in resolving the Kashmir issue," the Mirwaiz said.
Though Umer had earlier denied meeting Musharraf, the immigration stamp on his passport revealed that he had visited Amsterdam on September 24.
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