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| Governor fears dialogue breakdown | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu|Sep 25
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen (Retired) S K Sinha today feared that if Jehadis got an upper hand in Islamabad, the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan might get adversely affected.
"Jehadis are no doubt vocal, but do not appear to dominate the Pakistani majority who like Indians are forward looking and peace loving," Sinha said in an interactive session with European Union delegation here.
The Governor had a two-hour-long free and frank exchange of views on issues like Indo-Pakistan relations, evolution of fundamentalism in Pakistan during the rule of General Zia-ul-Haq, Indo-Pak peace process, special status to Jammu and Kashmir in Indian constitution and the prevailing security scenario in the Valley.
The delegation led by Luis Filipe Castro Mendes, the Ambassador of Portugal representing the current EU presidency, included the Charge-de-Affairs of Slovenia, Miklavz Borstnik, Charge-de-Affairs of the European Commission delegation, Alexander Spachis, First Secretary of Portuguese Embassy, Jose Manuel Castro Santiago and Political Counsellor of French Embassy, Bruce Bourdon.
Replying to a question, Sinha said that the Kargil War proved to be a turning point when the world appreciated the Indian point of view over terrorism.
For the first time, he said, Pakistan stood isolated internationally for its incursion in the Himalayan region. 'Today, the Indian position on Kashmir stands overwhelmingly endorsed by the European Union Parliament's approval of the report of Baroness Ema Nicholson.
"President General Musharraf has been trying to project enlightened moderation unlike General Zia-ul-Haq who tried to promote fundamentalist outlook in the Pakistani Army and the civil society," General Sinha said in reply to a question.
He said that Pakistanis had not been fundamentalists even though they may have had an anti-India bias in the wake of the Partition holocaust, which left millions killed and uprooted.
He said that terrorism is waning in Kashmir, as the daily rate of killing of terrorists, civilians and Security Forces has come down considerably.
"There has been a discernible improvement in the overall situation and various measures are underway to assuage the aspirations of the people," he said.
Referring to the dialogue process to address the internal dimensions of Kashmir problem, he said that five working groups had been set up during the Second Round Table Conference of which four have formulated their recommendations and the fifth dealing with Centre-State relations shall be doing so shortly.
Several confidence building measures have been taken with Pakistan, which include the opening of roads. He said that the Poonch-Rawalakote Road has helped more in reuniting divided families than the Uri-Muzaffarabd Road. He called for the opening of the Kargil-Skardu Road, which will reduce the transit to a few hours from present four to five days long journey via Srinagar-Wagah-Rawalpindi-Gilgit.
He also said that India had cleared 23 items for trade across LOC and Pakistan's response was awaited.
On being asked about Article 370, the Governor said that it bestows a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and is a safeguard to preserve its special identity.
He said that India is considered internationally as the most vibrant democracy of the Third Word and within India, Jammu and Kashmir has more self rule than other States of the Country. No central law can be extended to the State without the endorsement of the State Legislature, he said and mentioned that tenure of the State Legislature which is six years as against five years in other States.
He said that some rightist parties have been traditionally against Article 370 initially introduced as a temporary measure in the Indian Constitution. The majority view in the country has been that the special status of Jammu and Kashmir should continue, he added.
The Governor made a comparison of self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir with democracy in Pak occupied Kashmir in which the administration is under the tight control of the Central Minister in charge of Kashmir Affairs in Islamabad. Northern Area is in a much worse position where people are totally denied any democratic rights. He said Northern Area is the only surviving colony in the world. He also referred to the agitation among the people there against change being made to the demography of that region by bringing people from NWFP and Pakistani Punjab.
On terrorist movement in Kashmir, the Governor said that they did not include the moderate segments of Kashmiri society nor the Non Muslims. He added that the various separatist organizations need to establish their representative credentials and they cannot be considered the sole representatives of the people of Kashmir.
When the leader of the delegation wanted to know the assessment of the Governor, whom he described as an old soldier having in-depth knowledge of Kashmir scenario, about the situation, the General quipped, "Terrorism is loosing steam and the situation is gradually improving. We are taking measures for winning hearts and minds of the people".
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