New Delhi: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokar began his three-day visit to India with a marathon meeting with fire-brand Jamaat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani today (June 26, 2004) in which the pro-Pakistani leader is understood to have been asked to align with Itihadi Force, an amalgam of neutral separatist leaders not favouring direct talks with the Centre.

Geelani, accompanied by some of his close associates, met Khokar for nearly two hours in which diplomats of the Pakistan High Commission also participated.

Sources close to Geelani faction said the separatist leader was asked to align with the Itihadi force, run by Shabir Shah, JKLF (Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front) Chief Yaseen Malik, Peoples' League Chief Sheikh Abdul Aziz and members of Kashmir Bar Council.

Geelani had demanded that Pakistan should exclusively extend support to his faction and not support other groups, which seems to have been turned down completely by Khokar as he was going ahead with his meetings with Shah, Malik, Aziz and others, the sources said.

A serious rebuff to Geelani was the invitation extended to Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, senior leader of Hurriyat, the group with which Geelani had a bitter fight last year.

Umer was likely to meet Khokar on Monday morning, when India and Pakistan will hold discussions on Kashmir issue.

Geelani's plan to form a new party is also understood to have got a lukewarm response from Pakistan. Geelani and his group managed to give slip to the media and went out by a different gate.