Wednesday, February 16 2005 10:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Ahead of External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh's talks with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad, the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference yesterday (Feb 15, 2005) said that the dialogue process between the two neighbours should be Kashmir-centric aimed at resolving the long-pending issue.

"Kashmir problem is the basic cause for hostilities between India and Pakistan. Therefore, talks between the two countries should be Kashmir-centric," a spokesman of the Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani said.

No headway was possible in the dialogue process till serious efforts were made to resolve the problem after accepting Kashmir as a core issue, he said.

If the core issue was left in the cold storage and talks were focussed on frivolous matters, the outcome would not be different from such talks in the past, the spokesman said.

He said that his organisation wanted to highlight the fact that involvement of Kashmiris in the talks at a latter stage was imperative as without their participation no everlasting solution was possible.

"Hurriyat considers that resolution of Kashmir issue will not only enable Kashmiris to settle their future but also pave the way for progress and prosperity of crores of people living in India and Pakistan," the spokesman said.

Natwar Singh, now in Pakistan, will hold talks with the leadership there to give further impetus to the on-going composite dialogue process.