Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 17: The Agenda of Alliance or the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) devised and adopted by the PDP and the BJP provides for a mechanism that seeks to involves all the "stakeholders" in the talks on the political future of state, notwithstanding the fact that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir was settled as per the constitutional law on the subject in 1947 itself. The CMP in this regard reads: "The earlier NDA government led by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had initiated a dialogue process with all political groups, including the Hurriyat Conference, in the spirit of 'Insaaniyat, Kashmiriyat aur Jamhooriyat'. Following the same principles, the coalition government will facilitate and help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all internal stakeholders, which will include all political groups irrespective of their ideological views and predilections. This dialogue will seek to build a broad based consensus on resolution of all outstanding issues of J&K".
Significantly, Kashmiri separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani have rejected this mechanism, and instead, put forth conditions for talks which no government worth its name will ever accept. Hurriyat Conference (G)chairman Syed Ali Geelani, for instance, the other day reiterated his stand over the offer of talks being made to the separatist leadership. Talking to a news agency, he said: "In August 2010, Hurriyat Conference had set five conditions for opening the channel of talks with the New Delhi over there solution of Kashmir. Until those conditions are not met, no talks shall be held". "We are on our stand. Till these conditions are not met, the dialogue will be a futile exercise," he also said.
What were those demands? Those demands include release of all "political prisoners", withdrawal of "black laws" from Jammu and Kashmir, withdrawal of forces, "punishment" to those involved in killing of 128 people in 2010 and India must declare Kashmir as a "disputed territory" openly. In other words he said, he would take part in the talks only if militants, terrorists, separatists, murderers, traitors and unruly elements are released from prisons; Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Public Safety Act and Disturbed Areas Act are repealed or withdrawn; the state is demilitarized so that he and others of his ilk could conduct their anti-India activities with utmost ease; action is taken against those who discharged their duties towards the people and the state by taking action against the anti-India elements; and New Delhi recognizes Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
These are all nasty conditions and not based on the general will of the people of the state which consists of three historically distinct regions housing a highly diverse population. Geelani and others of his ilk should not overlook the nature of the 2014 mandate that established that the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have actually voted for the state's three-way split. In Jammu, the people had voted overwhelmingly in favour of the BJP, in Ladakh for the Congress and in Kashmir for the PDP. Even a naïve would understand who and for what the people of different regions voted for.
The question that needs to be asked is: Will the Union Government accept these pre-conditions for the talks on the so-called Kashmir issue ignoring the aspirations of the general population of the state? The answer has to be a big NO. For, the likes of Geelani only represent a microscopic minority. |
