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Kashmir : Third round table on April 24

	April 16, 2007

Reports say that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is convening the third round table conference on Kashmir in New Delhi on April 24. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told newspersons in Srinagar on April 14 : “The discussions at the meetings of working groups would be placed before the conference for further deliberations, and it will be good if all parties take part.”



Azad said in Jammu on April 13 that he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on April 12. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was also present when he briefed Dr. Manmohan Singh about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.



The mainstream political parties in Kashmir, including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference, CPI(M), PDF and the Congress, have for the past some time, been demanding a round table conference in which some contentious issues could be discussed. National Conference chief Omar Abdullah has said that his party would participate in the coming round table conference. The National Conference had boycotted the second RTC in protest against increase in human rights violations in the valley. There is no indication from the moderate section of the Hurriyat Conference so far whether it will take part in the round table. The faction said that it will take a decision on the issue in a day or two.



Chief Minister Azad said that it would be in the interest of the people of the state if the Hurriyat takes part in the third RTC. To a question about involving Hizbul Mujaheedin chief Salahuddin in talks as demanded by National Conference chief Omar Abdullah. The Chief Minister said, “There is a clear policy not only here, but also throughout the world that there cannot be a dialogue with those holding the gun.”





Take people along : Mufti



PDP patron Mufti Mohd. Sayeed has welcomed the proposal to hold the third RTC and said it must be result- oriented and the recommendations finalised by the working groups approved for implementation. Speaking at Lolab in Kupwara district, he expressed the hope that efforts will be made to make the conference inclusive, involving people of all shades of opinion, including separatists.



Addressing a rally in the border town, the Mufti said, the “fast changing ground realities in the sub-continent call for concrete measures for a peaceful and final settlement of the Kashmir issue. The cost of not rising up to this necessity will be colossal for the region.



“India and Pakistan must grab this historic opportunity and address the intractable issue that has made the people of Jammu and Kashmir pay a huge price.”



The Mufti said that while the external dimensions of the issue were being handled through diplomacy, the initiative must be supplemented with substantial internal relief to the people. “All such processes and initiatives would be meaningless unless people on the ground, who have been the worst sufferers of the conflict, feel the change.” They had to be carried along in the peace-building and reconciliation process to ensure its sustainability.



There was a sea change in the State’s security situation and the people’s faith in democratic institutions and processes was growing day by day. Recognising this, New Delhi must ensure a greater playing field for political forces and civil society institutions to consolidate the gains of peace. “Instead of relying on the security forces, New Delhi must empower the people politically and economically.”





Impasse on Centre-State relations in key working group



Reports say, a crucial working group that was to have prepared a road map for future deliberations on Centre-State relations has reached an impasse.



During the three rounds of discussions so far, major political parties merely restated their public positions, showing no sign of flexibility needed to arrive at a common ground on the complex question of recasting the State’s relationship with New Delhi, a source said.



At the working group’s March 29 meeting in New Delhi, National Conference (NC) leader Abdul Rahim Rather stood by his party’s controversial demand for wide-ranging autonomy, which was rejected by the Union Cabinet in 2000. Among other things, the NC’s proposals would strip the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction in Jammu and Kashmir, and free the State from the supervisory authority of the Election Commission.



In stark contrast, BJP leader Arun Jaitley centred his presentation around the party’s long-standing demand for abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.



During the second round of discussions held at Jammu on February 3, PDP leader Muzaffar Baig put forward the PDP programme for self-governance, involving creation of new district and region-level elected bodies.



Smaller political groups have, on their part, put forward a large variety of irreconcilable demands. Ladakh Member of Parliament Thupstan Chhewang called for detachment of Leh district from the State and grant of Union Territory status to it. Jammu-based groups, notably the Panther’s Party, demanded greater protection for their region. Kashmir-based politicians were, for the most part, critical of these claims.



Chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Saghir Ahmad, the working group on Centre-State relations was to have submitted its findings by November 2006.



However, the constitution of the Centre-State relations working group was retarded by fights over both its formation and leadership. While political parties locked horns over representation in the body, further delays were caused when retired Supreme Court Chief Justice A.M. Ahmadi declined to chair it. The group’s first meeting was held on December 12, 2006, a fortnight after its findings were to have been submitted.



Most politicians agree that the third round table will breathe life into the flagging dialogue process. CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami says, “Autonomy is a complex issue, and it could takes months or years for all the parties to arrive at consensus. We cannot allow the entire round-table dialogue to be held hostage to the discussion of a single working group.”





Musharraf best bet for peace : Mufti



Mufti Mohd. Sayeed has again expressed the view that Pakistan President Prevez Musharraf is the best bet for a solution to the Kashmir crisis. In a newspaper interview, he said that there was possibility of a breakthrough on Kashmir. According to the Mufti, Gen. Musharraf was in a position to take steps that a civilian government would take longer to implement.



When asked if India could trust the General, the Mufti said that politics was the art of possibility. He said, “People here say he is in the best bet.” Musharraf’s four-point proposal to solve the Kashmir issue has also made the task easier, he maintained.



The Mufti said the “process of reconciliation and dialogue is irreversible.” The Indo-Pak joint anti-terror mechanism had also helped in sending a strong signal that Pakistan was serious when it spoke about fighting terror, he said.



“As far as Musharraf and the Government of Pakistan are concerned, they are cooperating,” the Mufti said, when asked how serious Pakistan was about working towards ending militancy in Kashmir. He, however, hinted that there are some organizations that might still be supporting militancy.



The Mufti also spoke about a possible “collective cooperative mechanism” between both parts of Kashmir. “We can cooperate on disaster management or hydel power projects,” he said.



On his demand for relocation of armed forces, he said the forces should gradually move back to their barracks. The Army is not trained to tackle internal aggression. “Wherever the Army has been replaced by paramilitary forces or the police, the situation has improved”, the Mufti said.





Cross-border infiltration continues



Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon has said that cross-border infiltration from Pakistan continues. Speaking on the topic, “The Challenges Ahead for India’s Foreign Policy”, in New Delhi, on April 10, he said that bilateral dialogue can succeed only if Pakistan does not allow the use of its territory by terrorists to attack India.



Menon said India’s challenge in the neighbourhood was to build “inter-dependencies” which not only integrated economies, but also created vested interest in each other’s stability and prosperity in the region.



“Interestingly, today India is not the issue in any of our neighbours’ political transitions, rather, the countries of the neighbourhood look to the Indian market and economy as positive factors for their economic growth,” he said.



Pointing out the “smooth and productive” SAARC summit, he said India’s hope was that “as our engagement with each of the neighbours increases, the value of our bilateral linkages will outweigh the attractions of sterile confrontation.”



On relations with major powers, he said India should use its strength to create partnerships “which would allow us political and economic space to grow.”





Fake encounter : 11 charge-sheeted



Five Army personnel, including a Colonel, and an equal number of policemen, are among 11 persons charge-sheeted in a fake encounter case. The Special Investigation Team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, probing alleged fake encounters involving security personnel, filed the charge-sheet in a Srinagar court in connection with the disappearance of Muslim cleric Shoukat Ahmad Kataria last year.



Among those charge-sheeted on April 12 in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate M.Y. Akhoon are Colonel Vikram Singh, Major Rishi, senior superintendent of police H.R. Parihar and his deputy Bahadur Ram.



The investigating officer informed the court that the FIR lodged by the Special Operations Group of police and an Army unit claimed they had killed a foreign militant but the investigations revealed otherwise.