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Kashmir Scene Gets Murkier
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Shabbir Shah with Ram Jethmalani in Delhi, meaningless gestures
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By
Md. Zeyaul Haque, Special to IslamOnline
NEW
DELHI, August 30 (IslamOnline) - The Kashmir scene got murkier as
proximity talks between a section of separatist leadership and
Center-sponsored Kashmir Committee ran into trouble Friday, August 30.
Shabbir
Shah, leader of the separatist group Jammu and Kashmir Democratic
Freedom Party, came to New Delhi heading a 10-member delegation. He
began by declaring that his party was prepared to participate in
coming state assembly polls if the Center conceded his seven-point
charter of demands.
The
demands included release of persons illegally or unfairly jailed,
honorable return of migrants, greater accountability of the
anti-insurgency Central and state forces active in Jammu and Kashmir
and end of custodial killings. Besides these, the demands included
speedy trial of people jailed for petty offences, constitution of a
commission to probe custodial killings and disappearance of persons,
and facilitating intra-Kashmir dialogue.
However,
later in the day Shah ruled out his party’s participation in the
elections. He declared after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi,
“Let me make it clear that we are not participating in the
forthcoming elections”.
Shah
said, “We don’t shy away from the democratic exercise, but it
seems that the coming elections are aimed only at extending the Farooq
Abdullah regime.” However, he added that his party would keep
talking to the Kashmir Committee “till the talks reach their logical
conclusion”.
Shah
had said earlier in the morning that he agreed whole heartedly with
the Prime Minister that elections alone could identify the true
representatives of the people of the state. He, however, added that a
number of confidence-building measures had to be initiated to ensure
people’s participation in a genuine election.
It
was obvious Thursday, August 29, itself that the talks were not
leading anywhere when Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had a
70-minute meeting with the Kashmir Committee chairman Ram Jethmalani
but refused to meet Shah. The Prime Minister’s office (PMO) said
they had no appointment with Shah.
On
the other hand Shah said today, “The Kashmir Committee, which had
promised us meetings with the Prime Minister and deputy prime
minister, will be in a better position to say about the
developments.” Shah should have known better because deputy prime
minister LK Advani had publicly said earlier in the week that he will
not talk to Shah. Even the Prime Minister had clarified in his
Independence Day speech on August 15 that he would talk to only
elected representatives of the people from Jammu and Kashmir.
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Election time in Kashmir, woman watching election rally
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Meanwhile,
the Kashmir problem got even more complicated as some leaders of the
23-party Hurriyat Conference jumped into poll fray Thursday, August 29
even as Hurriyat itself stayed away from elections.
Four
leaders of Hurriyat-constituent Peoples Conference filed nominations
as independent candidates, but observers said they had full backing of
local party cadres. They are likely to give the ruling National
Conference a good competition.
The
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organization of Bhartiya
Janta Party (BJP), heading the ruling coalition at the Center,
reiterated its demand for trifurcation of the Indian state of Jammu
and Kashmir into two separate states, Jammu and Kashmir, and a Union
territory of Ladakh. This way the anti-Muslim RSS wants to isolate the
Muslim-majority Kashmir valley from Hindu-majority Jammu and
Buddhist-majority Ladakh.
Jammu
and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who has been advocating
greater autonomy for Kashmir, said the plan amounted to excluding
Kashmir from India. He told the influential national daily the Times
of India that if BJP wanted to divide Jammu and Kashmir, it amounted
to making Kashmir valley, Doda, Poonch, Rajouri and parts of Udampur
an independent country. For that the onus would solely be on BJP, he
added.
Abdullah
said autonomy still remained the main political issue in Kashmir.
Incidentally, autonomy remains his party’s main poll plank. He
thinks this time round the turnout of voters would be far higher than
in 1996, when it was difficult to get candidates. But this time for
each constituency four to five candidates had been coming to NC
leaders for being fielded as candidates, he said.
Meanwhile,
the Center to keep groups like Shabbir Shah’s engaged in working
with government-sponsored private groups like Kashmir Committee,
promised Friday that “the talks would continue even after the
elections.” However, observers feel that the Kashmir Committee has
already lost much of its moral authority and may not be very effective
in finding a solution to the vexed issue of Kashmir since the present
rulers in Delhi are not interested in any settlement of this
complicated issue.
Only
a few weeks ago it would have been unthinkable that people like
Shabbir Shah would come calling and when he does, he finds official
doors closed in his face.
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