As part of its attempt to build a consensus on resuming dialogue with India as offered by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference on Thursday met pro-independence leader Yasin Malik. Though the meeting remained inconclusive, the two sides are expected to meet again next week.

Hurriyat members Fazl Haq Qureshi and Bilal Gani Lone met Malik at his Maisuma residence which also houses the office of his Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). The two had earlier met hardliner Ghulam Nabi Sumji earlier this week.

“We cannot divulge anything at this point. We had a thorough discussion and discussed every aspect of present political situation,” JKLF spokesman Altaf Ahmad Khan said after the meeting. Khan said the second round of talks will take place after Malik returns from Delhi.

However, Hurriyat hardliners led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani are adamant that they will participate in the talks only if they are trilateral and India accepts Kashmir as disputed. They have warned that if the moderates join the bilateral dialogue process, it would be in contravention to the agreement reached by the two factions during the Amranath land row agitation last year.