Yasin Malik won't attend PM's roundtable

The pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front has decided not to attend the Kashmir third roundtable being chaired by the prime minister in New Delhi on April 24.

"I got the invitation minutes before this press conference through the Srinagar deputy commissioner. Our stand is well known. The bilateral efforts have failed to resolve this problem and as such we have decided not to attend the Kashmir roundtable," Mohammad Yasin Malik, JKLF chairman told a media conference in Srinagar.

 "In Nagaland, the Indian government holds talks only with Naga insurgent leaders and not with the mainstream parties. Here too talks must only be held with the separatist leaders," Malik said.

Expressing strong cynicism about the Indian government's efforts to involve the Kashmiri leadership in a sustained dialogue, he said, "These exercises are not for resolution of the Kashmir dispute. They have become exercises for dissolution of the dispute."

The JKLF chief also ridiculed the hype created about demilitarisation in Kashmir.

"If the Indian government speaks to the militants without setting any pre-conditions demilitarisation can happen within 24 hours," he said.

Malik also announced his party's "Safar-e-Azadi' (Journey of Independence) programme beginning on May 6.

"The journey would start from Daksum near Kokernag in south Kashmir Anantnag district and would take three to six months for its completion. The objective of the journey, in which we will cover every nook and corner of the valley, is to tell the world who actually represents the aspirations of the people here and press for involvement of the Kashmiris who have immensely suffered in past 18 years," he said.

He also warned that if the current peace process fails it would lead to serious consequences. "The ongoing peace process must be made a resolution process and if it is not done, the next generation of Kashmiris would only be comprised of fidayeens," he said.