New Delhi: Setting at rest speculation about the future of talks with Hurriyat Conference, the Government today (Aug 13, 2004) said parleys with the separatist amalgam in Jammu and Kashmir would be held without any conditions.

"There is no condition in holding talks with the Hurriyat Conference. We should continue the talks," Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil told a private television network.

He chose to make it clear that the Centre was initiating talks with Hurriyat without any condition. "The Centre is willing to talk to Hurriyat without any conditions," the Home Minister said.

The statement of Patil assumes significance as the Hurriyat had been insisting on talks without any conditions. The Home Minister said "delaying talks for long will not be beneficial for anyone." The Hurriyat had held two rounds of talks with the Centre led by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in January and March 2004 but the process came to a halt after the Congress-led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) was asked by the amalgam to spell out its agenda for talks.

In a couched advice to Hurriyat leaders, Patil said, "people should not indulge in hair-splitting by raising issues as to who said what."