EU refuses to meet Osama mourners in Kashmir

Delegation’s appointment with Hurriyat (G), Bar Association withdrawn on US caveat

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, May 14: On a day of Valley’s lukewarm response to Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call for shutdown, a diplomatic delegation of the European Union refused to meet the separatist hardliners in Kashmir. Taking exception to the hardliners’ policy of submitting demands to the USA and EU but paying tributes to the slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama-Bin-Laden, the visiting diplomatic delegation today withdrew its appointments with Geelani, as well as High Court Bar Association (HCBA), and spent the day in visiting a number of pro-India politicians and the government functionaries like Director General of Police.

Informed sources revealed to Early Times that the EU delegation had confirmed its schedule of meetings with Hurriyat (G) and HCBA, respectively at Geelani’s Hyderpora residence and a luxury hotel on Gupkar Road. Even as the hosts kept waiting for hours, J&K Police’s liaison officer with the EU delegation communicated to Geelani’s and Advocate Mian Qayoom’s radical organizations that the appointments had been withdrawn. Spokespersons of both the outfits maintained that the EU delegation did neither offer any reasons nor fix any fresh appointments.

After four-day-long visit to the Valley, the EU delegation is scheduled to return to New Delhi on Sunday. The delegation, comprising Deniel Smadja, EU’s Ambassador in India, Knneth Thampson, Ambassador of Ireland, Mrs Pierre Vaesan, Ambassador of Belgium, Philippe Gross, EU’s First Secretary, and Mrs Anne Vaugier Chatterge, Attache, European Delegation, called on Minister for Health, Sham Lal Sharma, and discussed with him several issues. Health sector remained focused in the discussion.

The Health Minister apprised the delegation about the medical care, facilities provided by the Government in looking for the people and the measures taken to improve and expand the facilities in the State. He also elaborated the achievements of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) programme launched in the State and the MCH schemes.

The delegation also called on the DGP, Kuldeep Khoda, at the new Police Headquarters on Srinagar-Airport Road. Sources said that the EU delegation had an exhaustive interaction with the DGP over the Valley’s latest situation and political developments. It also discussed conditions prevailing inside different jails. With the passage of time, the EU delegation conveyed to the two organizations that there would be no meeting with them, at least today.

Even as the delegation did not specify any reasons for cancellation of the two scheduled meetings with Hurriyat (G) and Advocate Mian Qayoom-led HCBA, informed sources revealed that hours before the two appointments, Embassy of the United States of America in New Delhi conveyed objections to the EU delegation’s scheduled meeting with Geelani and HCBA. According to sources, it was specifically pointed out that Geelani, HCBA chief Mian Abdul Qayoom and Democratic Freedom Party head, Shabir Ahmed Shah, had not only participated in Osama-Bin Laden’s funeral prayers in Srinagar last fortnight but also extolled him publicly as “a hero of Islam”. Reports suggested that leaders of both the sidelined organizations were “hurt and disappointed” over the cancellation of the appointment.

On the other hand, the delegation had a detailed meeting on the latest obtaining situation in J&K, India and Pakistan, at the new Mirwaiz Manzil in Nageen. Senior leaders of so-called moderate faction of the Hurriyat, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Gani Lone, joined the host, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in the meeting. However, the only hardliner on the “moderate faction”, Shabir Ahmed Shah, was conspicuously absent. Hurriyat leaders insisted that Shah was currently on a tour in Jammu.

Scheduled to conclude its four-day-long visit and return to New Delhi on Sunday, the EU delegation has met with a large number of the mainstream politicians, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Minister of Forest Mian Altaf Ahmed, NC’s Lok Sabha member from South Kashmir, Dr Mehboob Baig, PDP chief, Mehbooba Mufti, CPI (M) State Secretary, M Y Tarigami and the National Panthers Party supremo, Prof Bhim Singh. It also interacted with leaders of Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadith, Coalition of Civil Society and the State Human Rights Commission chief, Retd Justice Bashir-ud-din.

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