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| No to Mirwaiz, No to OIC | | Positive Developments | | Rustam
JAMMU, Feb 9: Whatever the reasons, the Government of India has during the past four days taken a couple of decisions which all right thinking people and friends of India would appreciate and which should be construed as positive developments in the otherwise very depressing situation that prevails in the country. One cannot say that the Congress-dominated UPA Government has reformed itself or reoriented its policy towards Pakistan, India's number one enemy, and Kashmiri separatists like APHC-M chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, but one can surely feel that certain saner elements in the political establishment have been asserting and not only allowing those controlling the South and North Blocks to further damage the paramount national interest in the restive and militant and separatist-infested Kashmir Valley. It is not an exaggeration but it is a fact.
What happened during the past four days or so? On February 6, a report emanated from New Delhi which said that the Indian Foreign Office had denied passport to APHC-M chairman Mirwaiz, who was scheduled to speak in the rabidly anti-India Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) at Cairo on February 7. MIrwaiz was in Delhi urging the concerned authorities to issue him passport so that he could attend the OIC meet, but with no result despite his claim that he had fulfilled all the necessary formalities. It is obvious that he was denied passport on the ground that he would go to Cairo and visit other countries to flirt with anti-India forces and unleash anti-India propaganda there as he did during his recent visit to Pakistan. True that the concerned authorities said that his case was "under process", but everyone knows how the Indian Foreign Office works: It can make the authorities issue passport to anybody in no time. There are cases of people getting passports within 24 hours. That Mirwaiz could not get passport did suggest that the concerned authorities had this time decided not to oblige Mirwaiz.
Reacting to the government decision not to issue him passport at that particular juncture, frustrated, crest-fallen and defeated Mirwaiz on February 6 reportedly said: "It was unfortunate that, on one hand, New Delhi talks of holding dialogue, while restrictions are imposed on the movement of Kashmiri leadership. 'We have already conveyed our message to the OIC through a letter. I hope OIC will continue to support the Kashmiri struggle and help build pressure on India to resolve the issue as per the aspirations' of people" (in this case followers of one particular religion). His supporters also criticised New Delhi and said, "Denying passport to Mirwaiz tantamount to curbs on freedom of speech and freedom of travel".
The other important development took place yesterday. The Indian Foreign Office rejected out-of-hand the OIC's suggestion that an "OIC fact-finding mission" be allowed to visit Kashmir to "assess the (human) rights situation there". "The OIC has no locus standi on matters concerning the internal affairs of India or the recent incidents on the LoC. We have already clarified that UNMOGIP has no relevance in regard to the latter…The propagandist suggestions made in the (Pakistan) Foreign Minister's statement are neither new nor helpful," an official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs on February 8 said.
It needs to be noted and underlined that backing Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's suggestion, the OIC had on Thursday asked India to "allow an OIC fact-finding mission, international rights groups and humanitarian organisations to visit Jammu & Kashmir to assess the rights situation there". In fact, the OIC adopted a joint communiqué to this effect at the behest of Khar. The communique had, in addition, also "welcomed" the Pakistan's proposal for "an investigation by the UN Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan" (UNMOGIP) into recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and further asked New Delhi to undertake an "independent investigation into the discovery of mass graves" (in Kashmir) and "ensure free and fair trial of those responsible" for "heinous crimes". The very fact that the Indian Foreign Office dismissed Khar as "propagandist" again indicated some shift in the Indian stand on Pakistan. No one would agree with those who would attribute this change to External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, a known communalist and an ardent champion of "peace talks" with Pakistan.
The third development was the admission of Finance Minister and a critic of AFSPA P Chidambaram that it was difficult to amend the AFSPA. "The armed forces, and especially the Chief of Army Staff, the present one and the previous one, have taken a very strong position that AFSPA should not be amended," he said while delivering the K Subrahmanyam Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on February 6. "My view on AFSPA is known, the view of the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on AFSPA is known. We have Jeevan Reddy Committee report but yet if the Army takes a very strong stand against any dilution or any amendment to AFSPA, it is difficult for a civil Government to move forward," he had also said expressing his helplessness. Not only this, he had further said: "I think you (reporters) should ask the question to the armed forces and ask why are they so opposed to even some amendment to AFSPA which will make AFSPA more humanitarian".
The denial of passport to Mirwaiz, the outright rejection of the OIC's suggestions, the dismissal of Khar as "propagandist" and Chidambaram's statement of AFSPA all indicate the positive impact of behind-the-scene activities of saner elements in the civil and military establishments. Let's hope and pray that more such developments take place in the coming days. |
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