Thursday, April 28 2005 08:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Asking hard-line Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani to take a re-look at his opposition to Kashmir bus service and the India-Pak peace process, President Pervez Musharraf said the amalgam could hold talks with Indian and Pakistani leaders separately, which could be considered a "trilateral dialogue" to resolve Kashmir issue.

In an interactive programme on PTV, Musharraf said, "In a different way it is trilateral. I think it is very good. Hurriyat Conference can meet them and us. Modalities should be worked. I spoke to Hurriyat leaders in this regard."

He said differences among Hurriyat leaders was due to "rigidity" of some of them about the way forward. "They have differences in modalities. There is rigidity of minds about way forward. It should not be there," he said referring to his meetings with Geelani and other Hurriyat leaders during his recent visit to New Delhi.

On Geelani's criticism of initiatives like Kashmir bus services, he said, "I respect Geelani Sahib a lot... He is a very senior leader and contributed a lot to the cause of Kashmir.

To another question, he said, "Kashmiris alone cannot reach an agreement on the status of Kashmir. Pakistan and India cannot be ignored."

"Any process that does not involve the two is not practicable or possible," he added.

"I hope that he (Geelani) will think about what we have been trying to do and think about his role. He should give guidance to the rest as all of them are his juniors. His responsibility is to get everyone together so that the real strength of Hurriyat could be felt."

"I do hope that he will look into realities and bring about unity and bring about some flexibility in his own thinking," he said.

Musharraf said he would like to receive a Hurriyat leaders delegation in Pakistan preferably by the next Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service. "It will give me a lot of happiness, if all of them come together," he said.