Jammu, Nov 13 (IANS) Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday said he was ready for talks to resolve the Kashmir issue “through open or quiet diplomacy”.
“We want issue-based discussions on Kashmir and are ready to play our role to find the solution to the Kashmir crisis through triangular talks — between Kashmir and India, India and Pakistan and Kashmir and Pakistan,” the Mirwaiz, who is currently touring towns of the mountainous Doda and Kishtwar districts of Jammu region, told a gathering in Kishtwar, about 200 km northeast of here.

In reference to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent statement that a solution to the Kashmir problem should be sought through “quiet diplomacy”, Mirwaiz said that he was ready to go in for discussions on the issue “whether through open or quiet diplomacy”.

He said that the Hurriyat Conference was not against the Indian government but “against its policies”.

Talking about the Hurriyat movement, he said: “It was an all-inclusive movement… neither does it belong to a particular region or religion.”

“My mission is to take everyone along, from all regions, sub regions, ethnicities and religions,” he added.

The Mirwaiz said India needs to create an atmosphere for talks by “demilitarization of the state and repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the area”.

He added that if the Indian government felt that situation in Jammu and Kashmir had improved, then “there should not be any problem in initiating these steps”.