Hurriyat leaders meet Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit, discuss Sushma, Sharif meeting

New Delhi/Srinagar: Two hardliner Hurriyat Conference leaders on Monday met Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit in Delhi and told him that Islamabad should maintain "consistency and firmness" over its Kashmir policy.

They also emphasised that Pakistan should play an "active role in highlighting the human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir at international fora.

"A Hurriyat delegation sent by chairman Syed Ali Geelani today held a detailed meeting for one-and-a-half hours with Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit in New Delhi.

"They held a detailed discussion over the recent meeting of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan rulers on the occasion of Asia Heart Conference in Islamabad and also discussed the Kashmir policy there," Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said in a statement in Srinagar.

After Swaraj met Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other leaders, the two countries decided to engage in a comprehensive bilateral dialogue covering Kashmir and other bilateral issues.

The two-member Hurriyat delegation comprised Geelani's personal secretary Peer Saifullah and chief organiser of the amalgam Altaf Ahmad Shah, he said, adding Deputy High Commissioner and the other officials in the Pakistani mission were also present.

"The Hurriyat delegation handed them a message of Geelani that Pakistan should continue to maintain consistency and firmness over its Kashmir policy and play an active role in highlighting the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir at international forums," Akbar said.

The delegation also apprised the Pakistan High Commissioner about the present situation in Kashmir, he added.