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Kashmir : Out of the box ideas from PM

	March 27, 2006

In a major departure from the earlier policy of not engaging with any of Pakistan’s ‘out of the box’ proposals on Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has signaled a new readiness to take up fresh ideas in the search for a pragmatic and practical solution to the Kashmir issue. Speaking while flagging off the new bus service from Amritsar to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on Friday, March 24, he outlined a road map for peace that would have four distinct components. Two of these would be internal to those areas of Jammu and Kashmir, that are in the control of India and Pakistan, and two would be bilateral. The bilateral elements would involve the official dialogue between India and Pakistan as well as working out a process of encouraging the two parts of Jammu and Kashmir to evolve cooperative and consultative mechanisms between themselves to solve problems of economic and social development.



Observers say that Dr. Manmohan Singh has achieved two objectives by stressing the necessity of internal dialogue in both India and Pakistan.



The first is to emphasise that insofar as there is a problem to be resolved, this concerns the entire territory of the erstwhile princely State of Jammu and Kashmir and not just those areas in India’s control or within the boundaries of “Azad Jammu and Kashmir.” This means the so-called Northern Areas in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir would also have to be a part of the peace process.



The second objective is to find a way of squaring the circle defined by India’s unwillingness to include “representatives” of the people of the State in the formal India-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir. By linking internal dialogue to the eventual resolution of the problem, however, the Prime Minister is acknowledging the centrality of popular grievances to the emerging equation.



The Prime Minister, according to observers, has broken exciting new ground in his suggestion that the two parts of Jammu and Kashmir should be encouraged to develop cross-border institutional mechanisms.





Wrong to link Indo-Pak normalisation with Kashmir



Referring to the ongoing composite dialogue with Pakistan, the Prime Minister said it was wrong to link the normalisation of relations between the two countries to finding a solution to the Kashmir issue.



Suggesting a step-by-step approach, Dr. Singh said both sides should begin a dialogue with the people “in their areas of control” to improve the quality of governance. Borders, which could not be redrawn, should be seen as “just lines” on the map so that the people on both sides of the Line of Control were able to move freely and trade with each other.



The Prime Minister said it was possible for India and Pakistan to come to a “meaningful agreement” on the Siachen, Sir Creek and Baglihar dam issues. “I am convinced we can move forward, if all concerned are willing to accept the ground realities, if all concerned take a long view of history and of our destiny.”





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Line of Control (LoC) can be the lasting solution : NSA





National Security Adviser M.K. Naryanan has indicated that the line of control (LoC) can be the basis for a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue. In a television interview on March 19, he said : “It may not be easy. The point really is, I presume, that if finally you have to reach an agreement there must be certain amount of give and take.



“I suppose when people talk in terms of LoC, it is saying that : “All right, what has been the actual ground position in the last so many years ?” That may be the starting point for an exercise to any changes that you might like to make.”



But Narayanan said Pakistan did not seem serious about finding a solution to the Kashmir problem and that India was confused by its suggestions.



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PM should respond to Pak proposals : Omar Abdullah



National Conference president Omar Abdullah has said that Kashmir is purely a political issue which requires a political solution and that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should respond to Pakistan president Prevez Musharraf’s proposals on the issue. Addressing partymen in Srinagar on March 19, after his return from Pakistan, he said possible solutions to the Kashmir issue such as autonomy, self-rule, self-governance, were discussed during his talks with Gen. Musharraf. Omar Abdullah said his party believes that Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir should be given autonomy.



The National Conference chief said when Gen. Musharraf asked him about his party’s stand on autonomy, he told him: “In our autonomy, India’s control will be limited to defence and communications, currency and foreign affairs, and the rest will remain with the Kashmiris.”



Advocating the involvement of militants in talks, Omar Abdullah said those with Kashmiri origin should be included in the dialogue process, and not foreigners.





Mirwaiz for unilateral ceasefire



Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has offered to get militants in Kashmir to agree to a truce if the Centre announced a unilateral ceasefire. “If New Delhi declares unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir, Hurriyat will try and prevail on the militants to follow suit,” Mirwaiz told the media on March 24, shortly before he left for Pakistan to attend the Conference of World Social Forum in Karachi. He called for a “bold initiative” and “out-of-box” thinking on Kashmir and assured a constructive role from Hurriyat.



Other Kashmiri leaders who also visited Pakistan, have been talking about the discussions there. CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said, he found more flexibility among the leaders and also the common people in Pakistan on the issue of solving the Kashmir issue. He endorsed President Musharraf’s demand for demilitarization in Jammu and Kashmir by demanding that in the first instance, troops should be sent back to the barracks at the places where peace prevailed.



Bhim Singh, chairman of the Panthers Party, said that Musharraf’s propositions deserved serious attention of the Indian leadership vis-a-vis the ongoing confidence building measures between the two countries.



Pinto Narboo, a Ladakhi legislator, visualises a sea change in Musharraf vis-a-vis his Agra meeting during the NDA regime. Hakim Yaseen, Minister for Consumer Affairs, who also visited Islamabad, described the PUGWASH conference as a positive step in the right direction.



Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Vice Chancellor of Jammu University, who led a 10-member team of the university to participate in the conference, said that the round table conference of Dr. Manmohan Singh cannot be undermined. It was a loss for the separatists who rejected the invitation of the Prime Minister.





Geelani harps on self-determination



While other leaders are talking of a pragmatic solution to the Kashmir issue, hardline separatist Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali shah Geelani continues to harp on the right to self-determination to find a solution to the dispute. Speaking at a seminar held in Srinagar on Thursday, March 23, he said no political process devoid of the people’s aspirations, no self-governance, and no partial demilitarization are acceptable. Other speakers at the seminar also spoke in a similar vein.





Forty detenus to be released



As part of a decision taken at the February 25 round-table conference held in New Delhi, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered the release of 40 detenus lodged in various jails. Eight were released from the Kotbhalwal jail near Jammu on Saturday, March 25. Official sources said the Government accepted the recommendations of a high level committee to release 40 people accused of comparatively minor offences. All the detenus had been arrested under the Public Safety Act. The process is to be completed by March 31.