Elaborating his remarks made in an interview to The Indian Express, which had generated hopes of a dialogue with the Hurriyat, Lone said, ``I had expressed my opinion (`If the Indian Government can talk to rebels in the north-east, why not with Kashmiris?') and it should not be construed as the Hurriyat's desperation for talks with the Government.'' Lone said the APHC being a 32-party conglomerate, any major decision needs the approval of the executive committee.

Lone and Moulvi Omer Farooq, former chairperson of the APHC, are the only leaders who are currently free all others are detained under Public Safety Act of the Jammu and Kashmir state and are lodged in Jodhapur jail. Both have made remarks hinting at their inclination for negotiations with Government of India, which has generated euphoria in the corridors of power in Delhi.

Sources said a number of ``peace-brokers'' are seeking appointments with Lone, who is currently receiving treatment in Delhi for a heart ailment. However Hurriyat leaders are hardly impressed with this approach and maintain: ``It hardly shows the sincerity of the government in resolving the issue.''

Lone said he had made himself available to everyone for ``I have nothing to hide''.

Lone and Farooq are leaving for Jodhapur to meet other colleagues, including the APHC president Sayed Ali Shah Geelani tomorrow. Sources say the permission to the two leaders to meet the detenues is also seen as a conciliatory gesture towards the APHC. Denying reports that he had been receiving feelers from the Government, Lone said: ``The Kashmir situation is so complex that no single individual will be able to help it.'' He feels amused at the interest shown in his health by a number of ``floating leaders in Delhi'' after his interview.

``Last year I was dying and Government was not allowing me to go abroad for treatment. Then none of them even had the courtesy to call me,'' he said.Lone asked the ``self-styled peace-brokers'' to keep themselves off this ``gimmickry''. The most sincere thing the Government can do is to express its willingness to speak to the rebels would be to stop atrocities in Kashmir and show its human face to the people.

``We don't expect the Government to give up its anti-insurgency campaign and go in for a unilateral cease-fire but what we expect is the security forces being ordered to treat innocent civilians decently,'' he said.