Hurriyat leaders meet Aziz; Mirwaiz supports border ceasefire

New Delhi – Kashmiri separatist leaders met Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz here Sunday and pressed for involvement of people of the state in any mechanism between India and Pakistan to resolve the vexed issue.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh said on Twitter the central government had committed a “diplomatic blunder” by allowing the talks on “Indian soil”.

Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq later said the meeting was good.

“The meeting was good. It was our first meeting since the new government took over in Pakistan. I think there is need for India and Pakistan to revive mutual trust,” Farooq told IANS.

Mirwaiz, accompanied by other Hurriyat leaders including Bilal Lone, said ceasefire should be maintained along the border and no soldier should be killed on either side.

“Ultimately, it will benefit people,” he said.

He said Kashmir was primarily a political problem and there cannot be a military solution.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik, also invited to meet Aziz, said India and Pakistan should give priority to Kashmir problem as it was a “humantarian issue”.

He said any talks between India and Pakistan to sort out the Kashmir problem must include representatives of people from the state.

Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani also met Aziz.

Sources said Aziz told the Hurriyat leaders that Pakistan continued to extend its moral, diplomatic and political support on the Kashmir issue.

He also said Pakistan was keen that Kashmiris should be on board once India and Pakistan agree on a mechanism on the issue.

Aziz arrived in New Delhi Sunday to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting, and also to hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.