M A I N   N E W S

Pakistan softens stance?
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, May 11 — Although Pakistani agencies have softened their stance over the proposed talks between the Government of India and leaders of the Hurriyat Conference yet there is no indication that the agencies across the border have plans of going slow as far as moral and material support to the militants, operating in Jammu and Kashmir, is concerned.

When a fortnight ago reports made rounds regarding the possibility of a dialogue between the Centre and the Hurriyat leaders the Pakistani agencies utilised the print and electronic media to convey to the separatists warning against holding talks with the Centre. Pakistan Television and radio arranged interviews and other programmes in which the participants were highly critical of the utility of the proposed bilateral talks. They went to the extent of conveying to the separatists in Kashmir that there could be no solution to the Kashmir problem issue unless Pakistan was involved in the talks.

In fact during the past three months Islamabad has been making a strong plea for direct Indo-Pak talks. Even the military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf is on record having voiced his favour for resuming Indo-Pak talks for resolving the Kashmir issue. Following Delhi’s pre-condition for talks General Musharraf had to cool his heels. He was told by the ruling NDA leaders on several occasions that talks could begin only after Pakistan suspended aid to the militants and stopped cross-border terrorism and infiltration.

Knowledgeable circles here are of the view that the Pakistani agencies have softened their stand on the Hurriyat Centre talks under the US pressure. It is under this pressure that the Centre too had agreed to hold talks with the separatists though it announced that the parleys had to be held within the ambit of the Constitution.

These circles said Pakistan had decided to play soft towards the proposed talks but keep the pressure on the separatists to insist on tri-partite talks and avoid compromising on the right of self-determination for the people of Kashmir as provided in the UN resolutions on Kashmir.

In addition to this the Pak agencies have decided to step up militancy related violence in J&K so that the negotiating parties and the US Government realise that Pakistan was a party to the dispute. Even in the face of reports suggesting softening of Pak stand on the Hurriyat-government talks the Pak agencies had been engaged in giving arms training to large groups of Kashmiri youths who had been taken across the border in recent weeks and in organising several groups of foreign mercenaries for infiltrating into Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pak agencies would like to show to the Hurriyat Conference and other separatist leaders that Islamabad and not they were masters of the situation in Kashmir.

Informed circles also opined that Pakistan would like the Hurriyat Conference to open a dialogue with the Centre so that the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, and his ruling National Conference felt sidelined and under fresh threat of losing power. Agencies across the border believe that Dr Abdullah was a major hurdle in the ongoing jehad and as such if the Hurriyat-Centre talks were initiated it would ultimately lead to further political confusion.

It is in this connection that several Hurriyat leaders are for talks without preconditions. They are not yet willing to hold talks within the ambit of the Constitution.

Intelligence agencies are stated to have informed the Centre and the state government that Pak-aided militancy might assume serious dimensions in the next three to four months if the security agencies were allowed to relax under the shadow of the proposed Hurriyat-government talks. Already reports of military build-up across the border and readiness of over 3,000 well-equipped militants, including foreign mercenaries, to cross into Jammu and Kashmir indicated that Pakistan was preparing for a major mischief while adopting a soft posture on the Hurriyat-government talks.

In the wake of these reports the Centre has directed the security forces to intensify their anti-insurgency operations within the state and take effective steps to check infiltration and arms smuggling. The Centre plans to mount pressure on the separatists to come to the negotiating table which is possible if they the (separatists) realise that militants are under pressure from the security forces.