Muzaffar Wani, father of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, whose killing led to the ongoing flare-up in Kashmir, met the spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the Art of Living ashram here.
Art of Living spokespersons said Mr. Wani arrived on Thursday for a personal visit and left on Saturday. Mr. Wani said had come for treatment of diabetes at the Sri Sri Ayurvedic Hospital.
“I did not stay in a hotel as I did not find it safe. I stayed at the ashram,” he said. Though Art of Living refused to divulge details, sources told The Hindu that the meeting was part of a diplomacy mission involving the Hurriyat. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited Kashmir recently and met the Hurriyat leaders and discussed the situation there.
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Mr. Wani said he discussed the situation in the Valley with the spiritual leader. “Since Sri Sri is a man of peace, I apprised him of the ground situation,” he said on the phone from his residence in Tral town in south Kashmir. Mr. Wani said he asked Sri Sri to use his influence in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem.
“Sri Sri asked me what the people of Kashmir wanted. I asked him to visit the Valley to find out for himself,” he said. Wani, a teacher by profession, said there should be an unconditional dialogue with the separatists to find a lasting solution to Kashmir problem.
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“Hurriyat is the leadership of Kashmir and there should be an unconditional dialogue ... the precondition of ‘within the ambit of the Indian Constitution’ will not lead to a solution,” he said.“Muzaffar Wani, the father of Burhan Wani was in the ashram for the last 2 days. We discussed several issues,” Ravi Shankar had tweeted, without elaborating. The tweet was accompanied by a picture of the two together.
(With PTI inputs)