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| Farooq becomes a pedlar of dreams | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, May 25: President National Conference and Union Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has been a great dreamer. He is more of a dreamer than a cunning politician. There was a time when he would dream of scaling mountain peaks singing songs. He would dream of moving like a saint with "ektara" in his hands. At times he would dream of teaching Pakistan a lesson or two. He would dream of Government of India listening to his pleas against resuming dialogue with Pakistan till Islamabad stopped exporting terror to India.
He would not hide dreaming of hanging the corrupt by the lamp post. He would express loudly his dream of drowning the corrupt in the Dal Lake. Possibly dreaming is Farooq's favourite hobby. It is not yet known whether he is day dreaming or is haunted by different dreams he sees during his heavy slumber. Of late he has been dreaming of friendship with Pakistan. He has been dreaming of open borders. He has been dreaming of walking lazily in the streets of Lahore with a "paan" in his big mouth till he reaches the place for enjoying 'Mujra." He is quick to make amends when he says he would visit Lahore not only for watching the "Mujra" but for listening to the classical songs and for experiencing the thrill of cultural renaissance for which Lahore is famous for.
Gradually from a staunch opponent of Pakistan's policy towards India Farooq has progressed to a campaigner for cordial ties between the two neighboring countries. He has started dreaming again and this time his dream is to drive through open Indo-Pak borders just as it is possible to do so in Europe. "There are no check posts, nobody asks for your passport, and nobody checks your car boot in Europe," Farooq says.
"I wish a day comes when I can drive past the border to Pakistan just like I can do in Europe today. Europe is one after a history of violence," he has stated. Pleading for Indo-Pak peace, Dr Abdullah said that Kashmir would never go to Pakistan but still a solution had to be found which would satisfy the majority of people in the State in India and in Pakistan. One need not treat Farooq's dream on bringing India and Pakistan close as mere wishful thinking. The former Kashmir Chief Minister is really interested in friendly ties between the two countries.
Over the years he has realised that strained relations between India and Pakistan, growing conflict between the two sides and failure of the two in resolving the Kashmir issue had been the main reason for violence and turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir. It is not possible for Farooq Abdullah to forget the impact of the operation Topac had on the security and political scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and in the rest of India. Farooq has reason to keep in mind the effect of the Pakistan sponsored insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir which forced him to quit in 1990 when he and his party, the National Conference, had won the 1987 Assembly election.
By now Farooq Abdullah has realised that continued animosity between India and Pakistan would continue to keep Jammu and Kashmir sizzling with violence, political uncertainty. It would deny peace for which people in the state have been craving for. Even if Farooq has learnt from the PDP leadership the essence of Indo-Pak amity and its utility for promoting peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir he needs to be heard by New Delhi. But Farooq should know that his wishes can be fulfilled if Islamabad adopts flexible approach and gives up its Kashmir centric stand.
In this context Farooq has, even while dreaming, conveyed to Pakistan a highly pregnant message by saying that "Kashmir can never be part of Pakistan." He has become ardent supporter of friendly ties between New Delhi and Islamabad and it is hoped that the establishment in Pakistan listens to Farooq's plea. |
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