Moderate Hurriyat faction to discuss Kashmir package tomorrow

The moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq will meet tomorrow to respond to Centre's latest Kashmir initiative even as a senior minister said the package was not meant for separatists but for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"We have convened a meeting of the Executive and General council tomorrow wherein the announcement made by the government of India will be discussed threadbare before a formal response is made to it," Hurriyat chairman Farooq said.

However, sources close to Mirwaiz said the amalgam was not too excited about the 8-point formula announced by home minister P Chidambaram yesterday for normalising the situation in Kashmir Valley, saying "it was another case of taking half steps".

The sources said the official response of the moderate faction is likely to be a 'guarded one'.

In New Delhi, minister of state in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan said the package was not meant for the separatists but for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and hoped that a positive reaction would emerge soon.

Chavan's comments to reporters came when he was asked about Hurriyat Conference hardline faction headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani terming the Kashmir package as an "eyewash" and "delaying tactics".

The minister said,"It is a package not for the separatists but for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I am sure when the package unfolds, the intention of the government to sooth the frayed tempers comes to the fore, there will be a positive reaction," the minister said.

Noting that there had been positive reaction from some quarters, he said that he did not expect the "separatists to offer any positive reaction as they have a different agenda.

"But we are willing to talk to anyone who wants to find a solution... political leaders, social leaders, NGOs, even people with different ideology... we are willing to talk to them," Chavan said.

Under a major 8-point initiative to address the unrest in the Kashmir Valley, a group of interlocutors is being appointed to hold a "sustained dialogue" with various shades of opinion, about 200 youth detained for stone-pelting are being released and the presence of security personnel is being de-scaled.

Significantly, the notification of areas as "disturbed" will be reviewed which could pave the way for non-application of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to certain parts which will cease to be treated as disturbed.

Keen to prepare a job plan for Jammu and Kashmir, prime minister Manmohan Singh reviewed the work of the Expert Group set up by him for the task and directed them to ensure that the opportunities generated were sustainable.

The Group, headed by former RBI governor C Rangarajan, met the prime minister last evening for a review of the progress of the tasks assigned to them.

"The prime minister desired that the group take into account all relevant aspects, like skill enhancement, education and appropriate involvement of civil society and industry, so that employment opportunities generated are sustainable," said a statement issued by the prime minister's Office (PMO).

The Group outlined the range if short and long term measures being  considered by it for a focussed impact on enhancing the employment opportunities of the people both within the state and in the larger national economy.

Singh had set up the panel of experts on August 10 to formulate a job plan for Jammu and Kashmir that has some three lakh unemployed youth.

In Srinagar, welcoming the eight-point package, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami asked the government to take more initiatives to create an environment of peace and confidence.

"We suggest a panel of senior parliamentarians be constituted for a sustained dialogue with all shades of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir, primarily with those raising voice of dissent," Tarigami said in a statement.

A Hurriyat spokesperson said the amalgam "has been for a long time reiterating the implementation of certain measures for improving the ground situation and creating an atmosphere free of intimidation and coercion".

He said this was needed for initiating a process of meaningful engagement between the three concerned parties for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

JKLF headed by Mohammad Yasin Malik is also scheduled to meet to discuss the Kashmir package but has not been able to fix a date for it as some of its members have to come from curfew-bound parts of the valley.

"Some of our members are not able to make it here due to the curfew. Once the full quorum is present, the issue will be discussed and responded to," Malik said.

In Jammu, BJP accused the Centre of bowing before the separatists.

"...the Centre has again bowed before the separatists and anti-national elements and continued its appeasing policy towards Kashmir while ignoring Jammu and Ladakh regions," BJP State President Shamsher Singh Manhas told reporters.

"The Union government has attempted to be-fool the people of Jammu and Ladakh by announcing the constitution of Task Force for the two regions while real benefits have been showered to the valley. The BJP will not accept yet another instance of discrimination," Manhas said.