Mirwaiz calls for truce in IOK

Srinagar—Asking New Delhi to declare a ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, the Hurriyat Conference Friday said it was ready for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but the dialogue should be held on the “basis of equality”.
“We are ready for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh if the government is willing to do so. But the talks should be held on the basis of equality,” Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq told reporters here. He said “communicators”, who were conveying messages between Hurriyat and New Delhi over the resumption of peace talks, were active behind the scene. Asked about the deadlock in talks, Mirwaiz held the bureaucracy in New Delhi responsible for it. “It is they (bureaucracy) who decide on the timing. The Prime Minister is inclined for resolution of Kashmir issue,” he said after returning from a 15-day Europe tour. Mirwaiz said during his trip, he studied the Irish peace process and came to the conclusion that the British and Irish leadership had shown political will and vision in an attempt to resolve the dispute
It is high time the leadership in India and Pakistan showed the same vision and take steps which would lead to a lasting solution to Kashmir issue according to the wishes and aspirations of the people here, he said It is high time the leadership in India and Pakistan showed the same vision and take steps which would lead to a lasting solution to Kashmir issue according to the wishes and aspirations of the people here, he said He said although there were similarities in the Irish peace process and the Kashmir issue, the two issues were unique. “At least the vicious cycle of violence in Ireland has come to a halt. Government of India should declare a ceasefire in the state so that people can feel the change,” he said.—Agencies