New Delhi, Jan 12: Asserting that it was guided by "realities" and not "conditionalities" while seeking a resolution to the Kashmir issue, Hurriyat Conference today said involvement of Pakistan in the dispute was "not a condition but a principle" which New Delhi would have to accept. "Involvement of Pakistan in talks is not a beaten track. This is not condition and Hurriyat does not believe to be guided by conditionalities. We choose to be guided by realities. The participation of Islamabad is a principle after which the talks can proceed," Hurriyat Conference chairman Abdul Gani Bhat told a news agency here.
"Whom we should talk to first is a matter of detail. If the principle is accepted, we may talk to India and then go to Pakistan," he said. When asked to comment on the statement of Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani that Hurriyat was a spokesperson of Pakistan, Bhat said "I do not deny Advani the right to choose his words likewise I hope he will not deny me the right to choose my words.

"We speak the language of former prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru who had stated that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were the masters of their destiny." Bhat said. Commenting on the suspension of passport of former Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and whether it could be an impediment in bringing the amalgam to table, Bhat said "people in politics have to suffer hiccups of different dimensions at different times and there is no escape from this either

Bureau Report