Author: Sumir Kaul in New Delhi
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: November 25, 2001
Simmering differences between the
Hurriyat Conference and Pakistan over utilisation of funds by the former
came to fore when the entire executive council of the 23-party amalgam
did not attend the Iftar party hosted by Pakistani High Commissioner Ashraf
Jehangir Qazi in Delhi on Friday.
Attempts to take comments from the
Hurriyat Conference leaders failed as no one was willing to comment on
the 'ticklish issue'.
However, highly placed insiders
within the amalgam said the relation between one of the former chairmen
and the present incumbent with Pakistan had become 'sour' over a variety
of issues, including funds utilisation.
The insiders said several leaders
of the Hurriyat Conference had been asked to account for the money provided
by various organisations, majority of them from Pakistan.
Another worry for the Hurriyat was
the recent press conference by its chairman Abdul Gani Bhat, where he put
forward a proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire, which was not liked by
their mentors across the border, the Hurriyat insiders said.
During a recent visit to the national
capital, the amalgam leaders were summoned by officials in the Pakistan
High Commission separately and asked about funds utilisation, the Hurriyat
insiders said.
They said at least two senior leaders
of the amalgam had heated exchanges over the funds received from overseas,
majority of them from Pakistani organisations.
Much to the consternation of the
amalgam leadership, now even these overseas organisations have started
asking for details about the utilisation of money, which was meant for
disbursement among needy persons, the insiders said, adding no Hurriyat
leader had been able to give a clear picture so far.
The insiders said some organisations
have even threatened to stop all remittances and expose the Hurriyat if
it failed to give details about the disbursement.
Another senior Hurriyat functionary,
Abdul Gani Lone, who has been in midst of controversy after a militant
organisation asked him to hand over the money he owed the outfit, preferred
to keep a distance from Pakistan and did not even visit its high commission
during a recent visit to Delhi.
The relations between Lone and Islamabad
have been at their lowest ebb as even his son, Sajjad Lone, who is married
to Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Amanullah Khan's daughter,
had to leave Pakistan for writing an article criticising Pakistan's Kashmir
policy.
The JKLF led by Yasin Malik, which
received an invitation for the Iftar party, continued its boycott of all
Pakistani functions, which started with the boycott of the much-hyped tea
party with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf before the Agra summit in
July this year.