[Despite all the posturings in public, there is apparently some give-and-take between the two worked out behind the closed doors. Togadia visits J&K, and Pakistani envoy meets Geelani. And, no one screams. Of course, there is lot of noise over the release of Masarat Alam, which apparently is rather farcical.
Again, it appears that till date Mufti has managed to "take" more than what he has been compelled to "give". So, the show is on, for now.] I/III. http://www.geo.tv/article-177731-Pakistan-envoy-to-India-meets-Hurriyet-leader-Geelani Pakistan envoy to India meets Hurriyet leader Geelani Posted: March 10, 2015 - 65 PKT | Comment Pakistan envoy to India meets Hurriyet leader Geelani NEW DELHI: Days after resumption of foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Monday met Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Geelani, the senior-most pro-independence leader in Indian-occupied Kashmir. According to reports, the two discussed political developments in Indian-occupied Kashmir, while Basit formally invited Geelani to attend the 'Pakistan Day' parade on March 23. The Pakistan envoy also appraised Geelani of Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's recent visit to Islamabad, which marked the resumption of formal talks that had been halted since September 2012. The two countries had planned to hold bilateral talks last year, but India abandoned them in August last year after a similar meeting between the Pakistani High Commissioner and Hurriyet leader Shabir Shah. ***"[The] Prominent issue is that Jammu and Kashmir issue must be resolved by dialogue between India and Pakistan. Pakistan High Commissioner apprised me of discussions held during Indian Foreign Secretary's visit to Pakistan," Geelani told Indian media.*** [Emphasis added.] The Pakistani envoy's meeting comes a day after recently-elected Chief Minister in Indian-occupied Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said that dialogue between Indian and Pakistan is essential to achieve sustainable peace in the Kashmir region. ***Sayeed also said that India also needs to include Hurriyet leaders in talks with Pakistan.*** [Emphasis added.] Mufti Sayeed was sworn in as chief minister last week after his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) forged a coalition government with the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following elections in IoK two months ago. II/III. http://www.asianage.com/india/sayeed-appeased-bjp-allowing-togadia-jk-440 'Sayeed appeased BJP by allowing Togadia to J&K' Mar 10, 2015 | Age Correspondent | Srinagar Email this page Printer-friendly version The Opposition National Conference (NC) on Monday accused chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed of facilitating VHP president Praveen Togadia's recent Jammu and Kashmir visit and said it was a "fixed match between the PDP and the BJP". NC working president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter, "Mufti Sayeed has appeased the BJP by allowing Togadia to enter Jammu for the first time in 3 years to spread his message of hate." The NC in a statement here on Monday questioned the chief minister's move to "facilitate" the entry of the VHP president in J&K "to spew communal venom". It said Mr Togadia was allowed to speak at a function in Jammu at a time when he has been banned from propagating "communal bigotry" in various states like Assam, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh and after a four-year ban on his entry into Jammu and Kashmir. NC spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu said these "unacceptable and dangerous tricks" by Mr Sayeed "are aimed at disrupting the communal harmony of the state in order to divert attention from the hollow CMP between the PDP and the BJP which has seen "enormous climb-downs" in the PDP's earlier stated positions on the AFSPA and Article 370. "The enaction of these antics of creating hype about issues which don't merit political manipulation and exploitation is part of a larger plan to divert attention away from the continued misery of the flood victims and the unimaginable compromises made by the PDP in its stated position on various political issues like the AFSPA and Article 370," he said. He alleged that in order to divert attention from these "drastic U-turns and compromises", the PDP wants to resort to "theatrics and diversionary tricks". Mr. Muttu also said that the Omar Abdullah government had ensured that "communal entities like Togadia inimical to State's harmony and peace" were kept away from J&K and were not allowed to propagate hate in the State at any cost. "However seems like Mufti Mohammad Sayed is willing to allow Togadia to have a field day in propagating communalism as long as attention is diverted from the enormous compromises he made in the CMP with BJP", the NC spokesman said. Mr. Abdullah tweeted, "While the constituents of the state government bicker over Aalam & Togadia flood victims suffer. Bravo @jkpdp Bravo @BJP4India". In another tweet, he said, "The relief package for the people hit by the floods is no where to be seen forcing traders to down shutters in protest & still nothing." He also said, "Incidentally today marks 6 months since @PMOIndia visited J&K to see the devastation caused by the unprecedented floods in Kashmir." III. http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/on-separatist-masarat-alams-release-pdp-says-centre-should-have-known-745568 BJP's Strong Message to New Ally PDP: 'Mend Your Ways or Else' All India | Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh | Updated: March 10, 2015 23:29 IST BJP's Strong Message to New Ally PDP: 'Mend Your Ways or Else' Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed. NEW DELHI: In the middle of a raging political row over the release of Kashmiri separatist Masarat Alam from jail, the ruling BJP has reportedly warned its Jammu and Kashmir ally Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: "Mend your ways or we will end the alliance." BJP president Amit Shah summoned party leader Nirmal Singh, who is the state's Deputy Chief Minister, and asked him to deliver a stern message to Mr Sayeed and his PDP, say sources. The BJP reportedly said that it would not sacrifice its ideology for the sake of power. "Next time, there will be consequences," Nirmal Singh was reportedly asked to tell the PDP. The days-old alliance between ideological opposites PDP and the BJP has been pushed to the edge by a series of controversies since the coalition government came to power on March 1. The row over separatist Masarat Alam's release from jail on Saturday has left the Centre facing opposition attacks for the third time in two weeks. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his Jammu and Kashmir ally had freed the hardliner without consulting the Centre. "I share the opposition's aakrosh (anger)," he had said in the Lok Sabha. But ***letters exclusively accessed by NDTV have revealed that the decision to free Alam was taken when Jammu and Kashmir was under central rule*** [emphasis added]. In one letter, written on February 4, the state home department had flagged that a detention order against Masarat Alam had lapsed and he could not be kept in jail without any charges. No fresh charges were brought and a letter on March 4 said that Alam's preventive detention had "not been approved by the government" and he should be released. The PDP said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh should have known about the decision to release Alam. "There is in the public domain a letter that the release was ordered on February 2 when there was governor's rule here, so the union home minister should know about it," said PDP's Haseeb Drabu, the Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. 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