Shah
went on to say that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was going to
Kuala Lumpur to attend the NAM summit and thus before going there the
government wanted to give an impression that it had resumed dialogue
to resolve the issue.
So
far, only former aircraft hijacker Hashim Qureshi, now leader of the
Democratic Liberation Party, has expressed readiness to talk to Vohra
who, according to his brief will be talking first to elected members
of the J&K legislative assembly.
Federal
Ministers have made it clear that the government will not talk to
those who preach violence or toe Pakistani line. This, in effect,
excludes all those who demand a solution to the vexed problem.
Pro-Indian groups want only more autonomy for the state.
The
J&K state government has lent strong support to the Vohra
commission. State Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed convened an
all-party meeting Sunday, February 23, to build up a consensus on
vital issues.
The
Chief Minister announced that a house committee of the state
legislative assembly would be constituted to negotiate with the
central government’s representative. However, former chief minister
of J&K Farooque Abdullah-led National Conference, the main
opposition party in the assembly, did not participate in the meeting.
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Martyrs
graveyard in Srinagar - one of over 500 dotting Kashmir
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In
the meantime, deputy Prime Minister LK Advani told India’s official
news agency, PTI, on February 23 that the talks would begin in March.
When asked as to whom Vohra would be talking and whether the list
would include Hurriyat Conference, Advani said, “to begin with the
parleys should be held with the elected representatives. We do not
have any objections to whomsoever he wants to talk to.”
There
are the people of Jammu and Ladakh regions besides political parties
with whom talks should be held, Advani said adding that the central
government was willing to hold talks with any group which will lay
down arms and shun the path of violence.
Advani
had a 30-minute-long conversation with Vohra at his parliament house
office during which he reportedly told him about the points of
reference for holding talks with political parties and other groups in
the Valley.
Following
his meeting with deputy prime minister, Vohra said he would also call
on deputy chairman of Planning Commission KC Pant and union law
minister Arun Jaitly to get a broad idea about their earlier efforts
to bring peace in the region.
The
main militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, Thursday, February 20,
dismissed the appointment of Vohra as a new gimmick of the government
to befool the international community. “Indian government enacts
these dramas every now and then only to keep the international
community from knowing the realities of Kashmir dispute,” Hizb
spokesman Junaid-ul-Islam, said in a statement carried by Kashmir's
main English-language daily, Greater Kashmir, on February 21.
