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Jammu agitators agree to talk to delegation
In a dramatic turnaround, the Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti (AYSS) on Saturday agreed to hold talks with a visiting all-party delegation after three Kashmiri leaders agreed not to be present at the parleys aimed at solving the Amarnath land row.
- IANS
- Published: 00:02 August 10, 2008
- Image Credit: Reuters
- A police officer holds a pistol near Kashmiri protesters during a protest against attacks on Muslims and the economic blockade of the valley in Srinagar on Saturday.
Jammu: In a dramatic turnaround, the Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti (AYSS) on Saturday agreed to hold talks with a visiting all-party delegation after three Kashmiri leaders agreed not to be present at the parleys aimed at solving the Amarnath land row.
The AYSS, which is leading the agitation demanding return of a plot of forest land in the Kashmir valley to the management board of a temple trust, agreed to talk to the all-party peace delegation after it was officially conveyed that National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, central Water Resources Minister and state Congress party chief Saif-ud-Din Soz will not be present.
The delegation led by central Home Minister Shivraj Patil arrived here on Saturday morning.
Ambedkar Gupta, a member of the AYSS, said: "It has been officially communicated to us that none of these three faces would be in the meeting and that's why we are going for talks."
Fresh protests
Meanwhile, Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik's deteriorating health sparked fresh protests yesterday as the tension over the Amarnath land row, which has been wreaking havoc in Jammu and Kashmir for the past five weeks, refuses to die down.
The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman has been on an indefinite fast in Srinagar since Tuesday against the "economic blockade" and alleged harassment of Muslims in the Jammu region. Malik was admitted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, where he continued to refuse food.
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