Hurriyat should be kept in prisons outside Kashmir, says ex diplomat

New Delhi: Former diplomat NN Jha on Friday said that Hurriyat leaders should be kept in prisons outside Kashmir, as there are people who encourage discontent in the state.

“House arrest (of Hurriyat leaders) is very good, put them in proper prisons and take them out of Kashmir. They should not be kept in jails Kashmir…Because there are these guards and others who encourage them. When Sheikh Abdullah was arrested, he was kept in a prison in Kodaikanal,” Jha told ANI.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, had extended an invitation to the Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other Hurriyat leaders to meet with Sharif’s adviser on foreign affairs and national security Sartaj Aziz on August 23.

India has cautioned Pakistan not to go ahead with Sunday’s meeting.

Last year, India had cancelled the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan after Basit met Kashmiri separatists ahead of the planned meet.