Hurriyat okay with Advani as Kashmir interlocutor

Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani's new role as the principal interlocutor of the government in holding talks with the separatist political conglomerate Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to give a high-profile to the political negotiations in the state.

Advani's presence at the negotiation table with the separatist leaders will give a degree of credibility to the whole process. Government sources say the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to entrust a senior leader as Advani with the task of holding talks with Kashmir's separatist leaders is calculated to give political relevance to the Hurriyat leaders.

In fact, the government was quite perturbed over the slow pace of progress made on Jammu and Kashmir after appointment of former home secretary NN Vora as the chief interlocutor. What appears to have irked the Hurriyat leaders is the fact that they consider Vora as only a bureaucrat and too junior a functionary to take bold initiatives.

Hurriyat has always demanded the appointment of a powerful politician as the interlocutor. Even Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Saeed was insistent on the Centre holding serious talks with the separatist outfits.

Official sources pointed out that Vora's initiative proved to be a non-starter as none of the Hurriyat leaders came forward to discuss the entire gamut of the Kashmir issue.

Another factor that alarmed the Centre was the division in the Hurriyat, which prompted hard-liner Syed Ali Shah Geelani to raise the banner of revolt and form a separate group. Geelani had always opposed any kind of negotiations with the Centre while the Abbas Ansari faction is considered to be moderate.

Sources say with Advani's appointment as the chief interlocutor, the moderate faction of the Hurriyat conference could be brught to the negotiation table by effectively marginalising the hardliners.

"The moderate faction could also gain relevance and high-profile in the process," sources point out. With Advani's political image as a "strong nationalist" having sizable political clout, the moderate Hurriyat faction would have little option but to do "serious business with him", said officials monitoring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Home ministry sources confirmed that Advani was never averse to holding negotiations with even those pursuing a separatist political ideology.

The Centre had made a similar offer in the past also, when the security forces were directed to hold fire during Ramzan two years back. The government, however, expects to make a serious breakthrough this time.