Staying Away From Dialogue
Even though the separatist outfits including the Hurriyat Conference
have repeatedly emphasised on a dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue,
they have consistently stayed away whenever any opportunity to initiate
a dialogue has arisen. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's initiative of
launching a dialogue process which sought to involve all shades of
opinions had provided a significant opportunity for Kashmiri outfits to
voice their concerns. Rather than taking part in the roundtable, the
Hurriyat Conference stated that it would be willing to meet the prime
minister on the sidelines of the meet. However, the National Conference
had objected to this demand saying that it would boycott the conference
if the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) conceded to the separatist'
demand. However, the PMO turned down the Hurriyat demand. Observers say
that the Hurriyat's decision to stay away from the roundtable was
apparently influenced by instructions from Islamabad. The Hurriyat has
always sought to project itself as the sole representative of the
Kashmiris. By staying away from the roundtable, the Hurriyat sought to
project itself as a bigger and more exclusive group in the process for
resolving the Kashmir issue. Though Prime Minister Singh showed
statesmanship by extending an invitation to the separatists even though
they boycotted the first KRC, the Hurriyat Conference chose to miss
another opportunity to involve itself in a structured dialogue process.
While announcing its decision to boycott the KRC, Hurriyat chairman
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had said that it did not want to be part of a
"crowd of hypocrite politicians and Ikhwanis (counter insurgents)". The
Hurriyat leaders had also objected to the presence of mainstream
parties in the conference who had demanded representation from Pakistan
occupied Kashmir (PoK). Though leaders such as the Mirwaiz question the
'representativeness' of mainstream Kashmiri political figures, he
chooses to overlook the fact that whatever influence he exercises in
the Valley is due to his religious stature and not otherwise. Even the
other Hurriyat leaders also do not have a popular support base. Perhaps
this is why they continue to stay away from testing their
'representativeness' by participating in elections. Compared to this,
all those who participated in the second KRC were members of political
parties who have been elected in polls that have been internationally
acknowledged as 'free and fair'. Separatist leaders like Yasin Malik
and Shabir Shah also chose to boycott the second KRC despite the fact
that this was a significant opportunity for them to take a larger role
in the peace process.
Observers say that the main reason behind the separatist' boycott is
the fact that there is considerable differences within the separatist
camp. The Hurriyat, which is a 23-party conglomerate, is facing
internal differences between its members. The Hurriyat clearly fears
that if they participate in a roundtable conference or take part in the
elections, then these differences would be exposed thereby undermining
their claim of being a cohesive Kashmiri group. While the Hurriyat
chose to boycott both the roundtable's, it had no qualms about going to
Pakistan to participate in a Kashmir conference organised by Pugwash on
10-12 March 2006. Significantly, the Pugwash guest list included most
of those whom Prime Minister Singh had invited for the roundtable.
Observers say that though the Hurriyat participated in a Kashmir
conference in Pakistan, it chose to boycott the roundtable organised by
the Indian government which had more or less the same participants.
Evolving a Humane Approach
Despite militant attacks, including a suicide attack ahead of the
conference and a boycott by the separatist parties, the second KRC was
held on 24-25 May 2006. Srinagar: In a major peace initiative, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh sought to encourage Kashmiri militants who had
crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to return saying that
their cases would be reviewed. Singh's announcement is significant as
there have been reports in the media that many Kashmiri youth who had
taken to militancy and crossed over to PoK were keen to return home.
Singh also promised 'zero tolerance' to custodial deaths and urged
security forces to adopt a 'humane' approach. Singh, who addressed the
second roundtable conference on Kashmir attended by representatives of
various sections of the State's society and chaired a meeting of
unified command, suggested institutionalisation of arrangement to bring
people from both sides of divided Kashmir closer. Pointing out that
there were two dimensions to the Kashmir problem, Singh said, '"one is
the relationship between Delhi and Srinagar and the other is the
relationship between Delhi and Islamabad. These two dimensions are, of
course, different but each affects the other." Singh also expressed his
government's resolve to protect people from terrorist attacks and asked
the security forces to deal with terrorism firmly but humanely while
observing human rights. The second KRC was attended by 30 leaders,
including representatives of PDP, National Conference, Congress and
Panthers Party. The BJP's state unit and the Ladakh Buddhist
Association, however, did not participate in the roundtable.
The fact that the second KRC was a significant step forward was evident
as Prime Minister Singh announced the setting up of five working groups
to take ahead the dialogue process in Kashmir and look for a
'consensual' solution. The panels' tasks will include: dealing with
CBMs to improve the condition of those affected by militancy;
strengthening relations across the LoC in terms of more
people-to-people contact; economic development; ensuring good
governance; strengthening Centre-State relations. The group looking
into the Centre-state relations will deliberate on the special status
of J&K and discuss self-rule in terms of regional federalism and
greater autonomy for the state. Prime Minister Singh also regretted the
absence of the Hurriyat Conference at the roundtable and expressed hope
that its leaders would consider the joining the process in future. The
second KRC indicated New Delhi's genuine desire to resolve the Kashmir
issue by taking into account all shades of opinion and discussing all
possible solutions. Observers say that Hurriyat's steadfast refusal to
participate in any broad based dialogue process initiated by the Indian
government is linked to the ongoing peace talks between India and
Pakistan. Observers also say that Islamabad is using the separatist
outfit to pressurise India on the dialogue process. Even though
Pakistan has said that it is keen on a comprehensive and meaningful
dialogue with India to resolve the Kashmir issue, Islamabad continues
to restrain the separatist outfits from participating in any initiative
launched by New Delhi. For the moment, it is clear that the separatist
outfits, including the Hurriyat Conference, would continue to follow
Islamabad's directives with regard to the Kashmir peace process.
However, in doing so, the separatists have lost yet another opportunity
to participate in a serious and representative dialogue to resolve the
Kashmir issue.
