Hurriyat will not benefit from talking to Pakistan, says Saifuddin Soz

Congress leader Saifuddin Soz on Monday said that Hurriyat leaders should not talk to the Pakistan High Commission as it would not benefit them, urging the separatist leaders to talk to the Government of India instead.

"Hurriyat shouldn't go to the Pakistan High Commission to discuss politics because it is not going to benefit them. Hurriyat should instead talk to Government of India and the Government of India should also open a dialogue with them. That is the only option; there is no point in initiating dialogue with Government of Pakistan," Soz told ANI.

"Instead of being upset with Geelani, the government should talk to Pakistan. Government should talk to everyone including Jammu and Ladakh," he added.

Earlier in the day, Geelani held a 45-minute dialogue with Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, where they discussed issues pertaining to Kashmir.

Basit also appraised Geelani of Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan.

This meeting comes two days after separatist leader Masarat Alam was released by the Jammu and Kashmir government.

In August 2014, a meeting between Basit and Geelani on eve of talks between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan had enraged the government, leading to the cancellation of Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan.