We were not invited for talks officially, says Hurriyat

SRINAGAR: Justifying the refusal of separatist leaders to hold talks with the all-party delegation of MPs, hardline Hurriyat Conference today said they were not invited officially as New Delhi is "scared" of any meaningful dialogue with them and Pakistan to address the issue.

"They never officially invited us (separatists) and at the same time (they) blame us for rejecting it. It is not only shameful but speaks volumes about their truthfulness, sincerity and clarity... India is scared of any meaningful dialogue with Hurriyat and Pakistan," hardline Hurriyat said in a statement here.

Reacting to the statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that separatists did not believe in humanity, democracy or even Kashmiriyat, the amalgam said, "as always, this press conference (of Singh) is full of lies, deceit, denial and contradictions".

The statement said, "We don't need lectures and sermons on democracy and humanity...They tried to play a game of 'win only' for them as they just wanted to discredit us as whether we accept their offer of dialogue which never came or we ignore their casual personal gestures."

It said, "The sole intention of the delegation was to act as firefighting just to derail and fizzle the current movement out through these age old tactics, as they have been doing whenever Kashmiris stood up for their basic rights."