India News Online » News Analysis » Indian Politics » 

Kashmir : PM may meet Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Farooq

	January 08, 2007

There are reports that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is considering having a one on one meeting with Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq this month. The meeting may come before the Mirwaiz goes to Pakistan where he is scheduled to hold consultations with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.



Mirwaiz Farooq’s meeting with Gen. Musharraf is expected to focus on Pakistan’s new proposals for resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue. The Mirwaiz is leaving for Lahore on Jan. 16 on his way to Islamabad. Senior Hurriyat leaders Abdul Ghani Butt and Bilal Ghani Lone will be going with him to Pakistan.



Policy-makers are reported to be deeply divided on the prospect of a Manmohan-Mirwaiz meeting. Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, the leading dove in the policy establishment, has pushed for the meeting which he believes will ensure that the APHC is locked into the ongoing dialogue process. This, doves like him believe, will help mount pressure on terrorist groups to terminate violent operations.



Critics of the APHC notably Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, have, however, warned of he potential costs of such a meeting. During his recent visit to New Delhi, Government sources said, Azad warned that such a meeting could signal to the APHC that it had a veto on the peace process.



Both National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and Azad are thought to believe that New Delhi needs to force the pace of dialogue with Pakistan which unlike the APHC, can compel terrorist groups to terminate their jihad in Jammu and Kashmir. During his recent meeting with the Prime Minister, Azad suggested that New Delhi offer joint management of water resources, tourism and trade to test Pakistan’s commitment.





Chapter of terror heading for an end : Azad



Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Jan. 1, Id-ul-Azha, that the dark chapter of terror in Jammu and Kashmir was heading for an end. Addressing an Id congregation in Jammu, he said people are determined to restore the lost glory of Jammu and Kashmir and cultivate peace. Azad said vested interests had made this paradise on earth a hell and it had become difficult for the people to live. He said the people were revolting against the perpetrators of terror and he was determined to bring people out of the morass so that they breathe in an atmosphere of peace.



Speaking in Jammu on Dec. 31, Azad said that ruling Jammu and Kashmir jointly with Pakistan was neither possible nor practical, but he said some sort of joint management was possible in the fields of tourism, trade, culture and water, which could pave the way for lasting solution to the Kashmir issue. He was reacting to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula for solving the Kashmir issue of which joint management is one part.



The main opposition party, the National Conference, has welcomed Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s stand on joint management of resources of Jammu and Kashmir. National Conference leader Abdul Rahim Rather said Azad’s statement indicates that things were moving in the right direction between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. The BJP has, however, described Azad’s statement as a sell-out by the UPA Government at the Centre.





People’s Conference road map for settling Kashmir issue



The People’s Conference of Sajjad Gani Lone has released a 295-page document unveiling his party’s road map for resolving the Kashmir issue. The document envisages a solution on the basis of the Hong Kong model with maximum political and economic independence for all the regions of undivided Jammu and Kashmir that existed before 1947 with defence and foreign affairs resting with India and Pakistan.



The People’s Conference chairman claimed this model was completely different from other models and it visualised a largely independent Jammu and Kashmir with an ultimate aim of demilitarisation in an “enabling environment” over a period of time. The model envisages a power sharing structure between India, Pakistan, and the two parts of divided Kashmir, namely Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar) and Kashmir (Muzaffarabad).









No compromise on Kashmir : Geelani



While other parties and leaders have been talking about a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue, the hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani continues to harp on UN resolutions for sorting out the dispute. At an Id congregation in Jammu, he said realities can neither be changed nor distorted. All formulas for the solution of the Kashmir problem should be realistic. He said the dispute should be resolved according to the promises made by India and Pakistan before the United Nations.





Protests over Saddam Hussein’s execution



Demonstrations were held across the Kashmir valley last week against the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. More than 70 persons, including 12 policemen, were injured in stone-throwing incidents in Srinagar and other places in the Valley on Jan. 5.





Suspected terrorists held



Even while India and Pakistan are purportedly moving towards a solution of the Kashmir issue, terrorists suspected to belong to Pakistan-based outfits continued to be nabbed in different parts of the country.



On Friday, police in Bangalore arrested a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist who was reportedly planning to attack Bangalore airport and software giant Infosys Technologies Ltd. An AK 47 assault rifle and hand grenades were among the items seized from the suspected terrorists.



Two alleged conduits of the Lashkar-e-Taiba were arrested by the Delhi Police and improvised explosive devises recovered from them. The incident took place on New Year eve.



Meanwhile, an associate of Mohd. Dossa and an absconder in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, has been detained in the United States and is to be deported to India. Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan carried a reward of Rs. 50,000 on his head. He had helped mafia don Dawood Ibrahim to execute the serial bombings.



Police have been put on alert in places like Allahabad, where the Aradh Kumbh Mela is now going on, the tourist resort of Goa and the Agra where the Taj Mahal is located, in view of intelligence inputs about possible terrorist attacks.