While J&K CM Omar Abdullah welcomed the outcome of the 'historical' meeting, Hurriyat Conference hardliner Geelani said it was 'inconclusive' without Kashmiri participation.
India and Pakistan's decision to carry on the dialogue process drew mixed responses in
Kashmir today, with mainstream parties welcoming the move and separatists insisting that the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting was "inconclusive" without the participation of Kashmiris.
Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the outcome of the meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani on the
sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt, and said that dialogue was the only way forward to improve ties between the two neighbours.
"The cordial meeting between the two prime ministers has become historical as both the countries have agreed to delink terrorism from Indo-Pak dialogue," Omar said in a statement.
Asserting that the agreement to discuss all outstanding issues between the two nations was a "positive understanding", Omar said the past was witness to the fact that stray incidents of terror had delayed composite dialogue, as had happened after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Jailed leader of the Hurriyat Conference's hardline faction, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, however, said: "The meeting between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan
would be inconclusive without the participation of Kashmiris."
Yesterday's meeting at Sharm-el-Sheikh recognised that "dialogue is the only way forward" and said "action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue
process..." Geelani, in his statement, said, "the meeting is being projected as an important step towards the resolution of Kashmir issue but the world needs to understand that Kashmir is not a territorial dispute between the two countries and it
can't be resolved without the participation of Kashmiris".
Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman, Mohammad Yaseen Malik, said: "unlike the past 62 years, which saw several meetings and talks between the two countries, we hope Egypt will finally break the trend of fruitlessness of Indo-Pak talks over Kashmir."
"It is a political issue and should be resolved as per the wishes and aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. We are a key party and our aspirations have to be taken into consideration," Malik, who has been under house arrest for the last three weeks, said.
Chairman of the rmoderate Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said: "Kashmir has been the basic cause of tension between India and Pakistan for over 60 years and peace would continue to elude the sub-continent till this issue was resolved according to the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiris".
State CPI(M) secretary MY Tarigami said his party "welcomes the delinking of composite dialogue from action on terrorism and hopes that bold initiatives will be taken by the leadership of both the countries to resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir through sustained process of dialogue and debate."
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