Geelani rejects Shinde`s dialogue offer to separatists

Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani rejected the dialogue offer made to separatists by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

Srinagar: Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Wednesday rejected the dialogue offer made to separatists by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. "It is a mockery. India and its agencies are deliberately issuing such statements to mislead the world media," Geelani said in a statement here. His remark came against the backdrop of Shinde expressing his willingness to meet separatists including Hurriyat Conference saying "what`s the harm in that. They also live in India and some of them were MLAs also. I want to understand what they really want." Shinde had said yesterday that separatists should come forward and work together for betterment of younger generation, their education, welfare and better future.

Geelani said it was astonishing that a person holding the post of home minister is unable to understand the real aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir. "It is a ridiculous and childish to refer some local purchases like buying an ice-cream from the market as a sign of normalcy," he said. Geelani stuck to his stand of implementation of the United Nations Resolutions on Kashmir to decide the state`s future. "We favour tripartite talks and it is better for India to come to the negotiating table and resolve the issue. We favour tripartite talks among India, Pakistan and the genuine representatives of state. The ground reality cannot be changed in Kashmir by issuing these statements," he added. PTI