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| Criticism shouldn't be for the sake of critcism | | Kashmir's Umar Farooq salutes Pak ruler | | B L KAK
NEW DELHI, OCT. 7: Maulvi Umar Farooq, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir All-Party Huriyat Conference (APHC), has once again demonstrated his skills to speak one language in New Delhi and another beyond the borders of India. The Maulvi went all the way from his home town, Srinagar, to Washington to voice frustration, in the open, with what he termed as the "lack of movement on Kashhmir" in New Delhi as compared with the "flexibility" shown by Pakistani President, Gen. Parvez Musharaf.
It was Maulvi Umar Farooq's calculated move as he referred to his meeting with Gen. Musharraf in New York during the latter's recent stay in the city. And the Maulvi reiterated that he found Gen. Musharraf upbeat and optimistic as a result of his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Havana. A Pakistani journalist, based in Washington, asked the Maulvi what the basis of the Pak President's optimism could be, when he as chairman of the Hurriyat is despondent about New Delhi’s attitude.
The Maulvi's reported reply: “You have to ask him why he is optimistic". And the Maulvi's assessment: President Musharraf seemed to believe that his Havana meeting with Manmohan Singh would provide a “big boost” to the peace process. The Maulvi, for obvious reasons, maintained studied silence on the main issues he discussed with the Pakistani President. The Maulvi, however, said that Gen. Musharraf had told him that some “headway” had been made in his meeting with Manmohan Singh.
Maulvi Umar Farooq's yet another opinion: Manmohan Singh’s anticipated visit to Pakistan would be “crucial”. And the Maulvi just cannot be faulted for his opinion on the Siachen dispute between India and Pakistan. Convincing was the Kashmiri leader's observation that the “settlement of Siachin dispute means nothing to Kashmiris", because they need solid steps taken on the ground with a direct impact on their lives.
The Maulvi was reported to have told a meeting at the Kashmiri-American Council (KAC) on October 4 that the India-Pakistan peace process to be meaningful must have “something in it” for the Kashmiri people. His allegation: Human rights abuses in Kashmir are continuing and there has been no improvement in the lives of the people who continue to suffer oppression and deprivation. It is ironic, he noted, that while one Indian official recently estimated the number of militants in the Valley to be no more than 2,000, India considers it necessary to deploy 500,000 troops to deal with this number. The Maulvi's yet another serious allegation: Kashmiris continue to be imprisoned under emergency laws, which are applied with impunity. Only a very small number finds redress through courts.
Maulvi Umar Farooq is known for his "friends" in Delhi's power corridors, particularly the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Yet he told his audience in the United States that he found it depressing that there is "no political policy or approach at work in New Delhi when it comes to Kashmir". Policies are devised on a day-to-day basis. Military tactics can never work, he warned. He said the much-hyped bus service between the two parts of the State remains limited and dogged by bureaucratic impediments. In one year, no more than four to five hundred people have been able to take advantage of the service. There are far too many government agencies involved in the operation and those who have taken the trip once do not wish to undergo the ordeal again. A journey of five hours from Srinagar to Pakistan takes 15 hours, he added.
Maulvi Umar Farooq has said that Hurriyat had set up an office in Jammu but it still had not been permitted by the government of India to revive its New Delhi office, which was ordered closed in 2003. He said that the current state of dialogue between India and Pakistan is “not up to the mark”. What one needs are more Kashmir-centric initiatives. Even pro-Indian parties in the State, he pointed out, are critical of the Indian approach, when contrasted with the attitude of Pakistan, which is flexible. While regretting the recent Mumbai blasts, he said the peace process must not become a hostage to acts of terrorism. There must be an end to violence in Kashmir and a cessation of hostilities. He found it ironic that while the Hizbul Mujahideen had suggested a permanent ceasefire, New Delhi had proposed that it last for the month of Ramzan only.
Asked if what is currently being pushed as “self-governance” for Kashmir is an attempt to replace “self-determination”, the Maulvi replied that UN Security Council resolutions that enshrine the principle of self-determination are the very basis of the Kashmiri struggle. “You cannot set them aside.” Self-governance, he stated, should be viewed as a part of self-determination and not as its substitute. Self-governance means empowering the people, he added. He said while Pakistan is “willing to test the waters,” India has shown no such desire.
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