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Updated: Jun 24, 2019 23:47 IST

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday welcomed separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC)’s softened stand on talks with the Centre.

“Dair aye durust aye [better late than never],’’ she tweeted. Mufti said facilitating a dialogue between the Centre and other stakeholders in the state was the underlying purpose of her Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “Tried my best to make it [dialogue] happen in my tenure as CM [chief minister] but relieved that Hurriyat has finally softened their stand,” Mufti said, referring to her tenure that ended in June 2018 when the BJP pulled out of the coalition government.

In a statement, Farooq reiterated they have always been in favour of talks to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Governor Satya Pal Malik, who has helmed the state since June 2018, earlier on Saturday said the APHC was ready for talks as things have started to change in the Valley. His remarks came at an event in Srinagar in presence of Union minister Prakash Javadekar and Jitendra Singh.

“The APHC has always been in favour of talks as the means of resolution. We have not said anything new. We have always been saying this. Kashmiris, being the most affected party [of the Kashmir dispute] for the past seventy-two years, naturally want its resolution,” the statement said.

Farooq has earlier made appeals asking the Centre to begin talks with Pakistan and said the separatists could play key role in the dialogue.

BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta called the Hurriyat the perpetrator of J&K’s most problems and said the separatists should publically acknowledge the state’s undisputable status as India’s integral part. “They should also commit their loyalty to India’s Constitution and seek talks only under its ambit.” He said any talks with the Hurriyat at this stage without them publicly accepting these preconditions will be counterproductive. “It will also be a huge setback to the ongoing, extremely successful operations against terror and the terror support network of which Hurriyat is a major culprit.”

Gupta said that a mere appeal for talks with Centre is “no indicator of any mindset change.