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Dismissing the possibility of participating in the state assembly polls, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Thursday said the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to Jammu and Kashmir is not likely to solve the problems of the people or help resolve the Kashmir problem.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar on Thursday morning, APHC chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat described the prime minister as a man with vision, but one which 'could never be translated into reality. His vision has failed in Gujarat'.
"Can the PM go to the streets and address the problems of the people?" Prof Bhat asked.
"Talking to state government officials will make absolutely no difference to the people," he added.
Also, "Elections will not provide a solution to the Kashmir problem," he told the reporters.
"Way back in 1996, we had decided not to participate in polls. We have not reviewed that decision and neither is there any possibility of doing so in the near future," he said.
The APHC chairman condemned the arrest of Mohammad Yasin Malik and alleged that the JKLF chairman was picked up in connection with the Hurriyat's election commission proposal.
He disclosed that three prominent human rights activists have persuaded Malik to end his fast in the Jammu jail.
The Huriyat chairman denied that a delegation was in Pakistan to meet various leaders and discuss the possibility of participation in assembly polls.
He said that the delegation, which includes Hurriyat leaders, had gone to Pakistan to attend a lawyers' conference.
"If they issue any statement, we will take action against them," he said.
He also condemned the attack on Abdul Gani Lone in Jammu and said, "Now citizens from other states come to beat us up."
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