New Delhi: Separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah was detained at Delhi airport on Saturday soon after his arrival from Srinagar for a proposed meeting with Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz.
Shah was taken into custody because the Centre does not want Hurriyat leaders to interact with NSA Aziz when he arrives in India on Sunday for talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
The move comes even as representatives from the JKLF are set to leave for Delhi later in the day. Moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and his supporters are set to arrive on Sunday and hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday.
Earlier, speaking to reporters at the Srinagar airport, Shah said the Narendra Modi government would detain Hurriyat leaders just to show its hard line on Kashmir ahead of the upcoming Bihar polls.
“There is some confusion in Delhi and we are not going for the first time. We’ve even gone for talks under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. Pakistan’s officials and representatives, including their prime ministers and presidents have spoken to us and we have been allowed to by the governments of that time, which included Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh,” Shah told reporters.
“Is the present government trying to say that they were wrong? It is nothing but domestic politics, ” he added.
India has advised Pakistan that it does not want NSA Aziz to meet the Hurriyat leaders when he arrives in Delhi on Sunday for talks on combating terror.
Following the flipflop on Thursday over their house arrest, the state government decided not to put any further restrictions on the movement on separatist leaders and allow them to fly down to Delhi.
“The centre can arrest the leaders in Delhi, but no arrests will take place in Srinagar. New Delhi can decide what they want to do and not allow them to meet the Pak NSA,” a senior PDP leader said.-PTI
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