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Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah on Tuesday challenged All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders to a debate on the Kashmir issue from any public platform, besides charging them with failing to seize the opportunity for a dialogue with the Centre's interlocutor K C Pant.
"They are making a concerted effort not to come to a discussion table with me after one of their senior leaders had to bite the dust at a programme," Omar said.
Asked about the new demand of Hurriyat Conference for holding talks with someone 'close to the power seat', Omar asked, "How close do you want other than Pant who is the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission?"
He said the Hurriyat Conference had developed a new tendency.
"While they want to have unconditional talks with the Centre, they themselves are putting a lot of conditions. The Hurriyat Conference, after having failed to seize the opportunity of talking to Pant, is now looking for a way to change its earlier stand. It should gracefully admit this and come for talks, we have a large heart," Omar said.
He made it clear that they have no right to cast doubts on the credibility of Pant, who is one of the most respected members of the Union government.
The Union minister, who is to take over as president of National Conference in April this year, said that Hurriyat began stating that Pant mission was a failure right from the stage he actually began working.
"You never gave him a chance then how can you judge him," Omar asked.
Flaying the proposal for formation of a separate Election Commission, the minister wondered 'how the present commission could be partial when some of the Hurriyat leaders were elected to the state assembly and one of them even served in the Congress government'.
He was referring to Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Bhat and Abdul Gani Lone. All the three Hurriyat leaders were MLAs and Lone was a state minister as well. He laughed at the Hurriyat's statement of holding election in the areas illegally occupied by Pakistan.
"Even today, one of the Hurriyat constituents -- JKLF -- is not allowed to participate in PoK elections for their stand of an independent Kashmir," he said.
"They (Hurriyat) have lost all their standing now. I know how they are treated in various embassies and high commissions now after September 11. Earlier ambassadors or high commissioners used to meet them, but now even the third secretary is a bit reluctant to give them an audience," he said.
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