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Centre-Hurriyat talks : Both sides looking for way forward |
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Both the Centre and the moderate faction of the Hurriyat are reported to be keen on fresh talks, but the modalities do not appear to have been settled. Home Minister Shivraj Patil has ruled out issuing a fresh invitation to the Hurriyat conference for talks. But he has said that the Centre is ready for talks at the appropriate time. He said that the doors are open for dialogue with all parties and groups in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Hurriyat conference on the other hand has said that if New Delhi is sincere about furthering the dialogue process, it should communicate the date and venue for their meeting with the Prime Minister to the outfit. The moderate Hurriyat faction chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said in Srinagar that the Hurriyat leaders are eager to speak to the Prime Minister in the backdrop of their visit to Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But he said it is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to invite them for talks.
The Mirwaiz reaffirmed his stand on three basic principles for the talks. These are finding a permanent resolution of the Kashmir issue outside the Constitution with a tripartite dialogue process. He emphasised the political nature of the Kashmir issue and held that it needed a resolution in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, National Conference president Omar Abdullah has asked the Hurriyat Conference leaders not to trust the leadership in New Delhi which, he said, refused to learn lessons from the past. Speaking in Srinagar, he accused the UPA Government at the Centre of dividing the Hurriyat conference and said a decision on resolving the Kashmir issue could be taken only in Srinagar. Omar Abdullah said those who think that any solution is possible without the participation of the National Conference are living in a fool’s paradise.
Dismissing the Chief Minister’s claims of peace in Kashmir, Abdullah asked, “Are the blasts in Pulwama, Nishat and Biscoe School a sign of peace ?”
Cautioning the Hurriyat leaders, he said “even if they (Government of India) invite you, they will serve you (only) with a cup of tea and samosa. You will not get anything else there. It is only the people of Kashmir who can give you something.”
Widening rift between the Government and the Chief Minister
There is no end to the differences between Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha, and Chief Minister Mufti Mohd. Sayeed. The latest manifestation of this came when the Chief Minister boycotted a high-level security review meeting of the Unified Headquarters called during Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s Srinagar visit. The Chief Minister heads the Unified Headquarters, the security and counter-insurgency grid that includes the Army, the BSF, CRPF, the ITBP, J and K Police and intelligence agencies. The Mufti is reported to be upset with the Union Home Ministry’s support for the Governor, who he thinks is interfering in the issues of governance, especially security.
Although both the Mufti and Governor Sinha publicly deny any rift, it is well known that they do not see eye to eye. The proactive Sinha first rattled Mufti when soon after taking over as Governor, he started going to the districts, holding meetings with officials and reviewing developmental projects.
Then came the public disagreement over the duration of the Amarnath Yatra last year. The Governor, who is Chairman of the Amarnath Shrine Board, wanted the Yatra to be extended to two months, but Mufti was not inclined so.
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