PM to meet Hurriyat leaders on May 3

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold talks with leaders of the separatist Hurriyat Conference in New Delhi on May 3.

The talks would come ahead of the second roundtable conference convened by the Prime Minister in Srinagar on May 25.

The Prime Minister will meet the Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq for the second time.

The first round of talks between the Prime Minister and Hurriyat was held on September 5.

During the talks, the Centre had assured them of reduction of armed forces in the state if there is a cessation of violence and an end to infiltration and time-bound review of those held under the Public Safety Act and POTA.

As part of the discussions, the Prime Minister would seek a roadmap from Hurriyat Conference on solving the Kashmir issue as the amalgam had promised to come with such a plan.

Reacting to the Prime Minister's offer, Hurriyat Chief said, "The dialogue which the Hurriyat has initiated is a separatist one. It is a triangular dialogue in the sense that it involves Pakistan and India."

"Let us first talk with the Prime Minister and see what the agenda is as far as his round table is concerned. Only after meeting him and deliberating on the agenda that the Hurriyal will be able to say whether we will participate or not," he added.

The Hurriyat stayed away from the first roundtable conference convened on February 25.

It had found itself marginalised after the Centre started holding negotiations with other separtists groups, including rivals of Hurriyat like Sajjad Lone of Peoples' Conference and Yaseen Malik of JKLF.

(With PTI inputs)