Jammu: Leaders of the moderate faction of the separatist Hurriyat Conference will be here Saturday (Jan 13, 2007) to discuss their Pakistan visit with Kashmiri Pandit groups, intellectuals and politicians. 

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and his team begin their Pakistan visit next week and will be in this winter capital for three days to find a 'convergence of view' on a possible solution to the protracted Jammu and Kashmir problem.
 

"We are visiting Jammu to talk peace and find convergence of views on a possible solution of Jammu and Kashmir that will help peoples of all the regions of the state. Our purpose is to befriend the people and regions, not to offend them," a leader of the Hurriyat Conference said.

Sources in the separatist camp said the Mirwaiz faction of the Hurriyat Conference is keen to involve Jammu's leaders in the peace process.

They will hold discussions with Kashmiri Pandit groups, the local leadership of Jammu and intellectuals to broaden their viewpoint ahead of their Pakistan trip, which comes days after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee visits the country.

Before leaving for Islamabad, the Hurriyat leaders might also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

They had plans to visit Jammu earlier this month, but the bitterness created by hardliner separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had delayed the visit. Geelani had raised an anti-India pitch in Jammu that deeply angered many in this Hindu-dominated region.

There were several protests staged against Geelani.