Jammu, May 2
Will the Government of India allow the APHC team to visit Pakistan despite the Hurriyat’s belligerent attitude towards the offer for talks and setting the stage for bilateral parleys?
This question has assumed significance following the behind-the-scene activities carried out by a group of interlocutors. In fact, the Centre has not slammed its doors on the APHC and the APHC has not pledged against accepting the offer provided at least one of the two main demands was conceded. Its demands are that the Hurriyat team should visit Pakistan and favours tripartite talks.
The government has not rejected the first demand, but it has delayed its decision on the issuance of passports to the five-member APHC team. Inside reports say that the delay is part of the government’s strategy to make the Hurriyat leaders understand the ground realities and not remain under the illusion that the Centre would accept immediately what the APHC demanded.
As far as the question of involving Pakistan in the proposed talks is concerned, the Government of India has made it clear that resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue was linked with Islamabad’s encouragement to cross-border terrorism. Unless Pakistan stopped aiding militants and infiltration, New Delhi would not favour tripartite talks.
Soon after the APHC rejected the offer for talks, several mediators got engaged in rebuilding the bridges between the Centre and the All-Party Hurriyat Conference. Informed sources said the government had not found it expedient to ignore the APHC.
The Awami National Conference Chief, Mr G.M. Shah, and the Democratic Freedom Party President, Shabir Ahmed Shah, have already accepted the offer of proposed talks. Shabir Ahmed Shah’s three-member team left for Delhi today to seek clarification on some points raised by him in a letter addressed to the Chief negotiator, Mr K.C. Pant.
If the two Shahs alone take part in the proposed dialogue, it may not set the river Jhelum in Kashmir on fire. And pro-Pak forces have already set in motion rumours that Shabir Shah and his men would be eliminated. A couple of Srinagar-based editors of local newspapers received frantic calls from common people who were keen to know whether the rumours regarding elimination of Shabir Shah were correct or not.
The way these rumours were circulated indicated that the pro-Pak forces were trying to enhance the level of scare so that nobody from the separatist camp dared to participate in the proposed talks.
