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Home  » News » Hurriyat leaders to visit Islamabad on Saturday

Hurriyat leaders to visit Islamabad on Saturday

By K J M Varma is Islamabad
June 01, 2005 20:54 IST
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Ignoring India's reservations, Hurriyat leaders will travel to Islamabad from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on June 4 for talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and other leaders.

The Hurriyat leaders, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, will arrive in PoK by the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus on Thursday.

Apart from meeting with Pakistan's leaders, they will address its assembly, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said on Wednesday.

Jilani said Pakistan considered the Hurriyat leaders' visit 'very important' as Islamabad has been demanding the involvement of Kashmiri leaders in the process to find a solution to the Kashmir issue.

During their stay in Islamabad, the Hurriyat leaders will meet the Kashmir Committee of Parliamentarians and Intellectuals.

The leaders are expected to tour other places in Pakistan, where they will stay for nearly a fortnight as the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad operates on a fortnightly basis.

Jilani said arrangements are complete to accord a warm welcome to the delegation when they arrive in PoK.

India and Pakistan have cleared the names of 11 leaders of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference for the visit.

They included Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (Awami Action Committee), Abdul Ghani Bhat (Muslim Conference), Bilal Ghani Lone (People's Conference), Maulvi Abbas Ansari (Ittehadul Muslimeen) and Fazlur Haq (People's Political Council).

The hardline faction headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani spurned Pakistan's invitation, accusing Islamabad of 'deviating' from its stand on Kashmir.

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K J M Varma is Islamabad
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