The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Musharraf visit may split APHC M. L. Kak Tribune News Service Jammu, July 11 Is the 23-party conglomerate, the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) heading for a split? This question has assumed importance after the JKLF chief, Mohd Yasin Malik, who is also one of the members of the executive committee of the APHC, launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf and the APHC leadership. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Malik, who now prefers to follow the Gandhian principle of non-violence, said General Musharraf had “no mandate” to discuss the Kashmir issue with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. He went to the extent of blaming the APHC leadership for deviating from the party’s constitution. The JKLF president has accused Pakistan in general and President, Musharraf, in particular for having “betrayed” Kashmiris. He explained that the APHC refused to hold negotiations with the Government of India on the settlement of the Kashmir issue unless the Hurriyat team was allowed to visit Pakistan first. And instead of reciprocating “our stand” General Musharraf has accepted Mr Vajpayee’s invitation to the summit. He said the Hurriyat Conference being representative of the people of Kashmir was the third party to the dispute and hence its involvement in the negotiations was mandatory. Airing displeasure over what he termed as General Musharraf’s betrayal Mr Malik said: “If my party leaders are invited to tea being hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi in connection with General Musharraf’s visit to India I will reject the invitation”. While other constituents of the APHC have been demanding an “audience” with General Musharraf in Delhi, the JKLF chief has shown no inclination indicating that he is not prepared to follow the line adopted by the APHC leadership. Mr Malik gave a clear indication that he would decide on the issue of quitting the APHC when he reached Srinagar. Mr Malik is in London for the past over one month for treatment and has undergone brain surgery also. With the APHC divided among the pro-azadi and pro-Pak forces Mohd Yasin Malik had remained under the Hurriyat umbrella out of compulsion as was the case with other constituents. He, like other leaders; had thought it expedient to work under the Hurriyat umbrella for giving weight to the anti-India movement. But with some APHC leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Sheikh Aziz Ahmed, persuing the pro-Pak agenda of securing Kashmir’s incorporation with Pakistan, Mr Malik has felt as much frustrated as the Peoples’ Conference Chairman, Mr Abdul Gani Lone, who is also opposed to the idea of Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan. Even Syed Ali Shah Geelani has not found himself at ease in the 23-party conglomerate. He has been trying to create hurdles in the functioning of the APHC by deliberately remaining absent from the executive committee meetings. During the past five months he has attended one out of four meetings. The last meeting was delayed by three hours simply to enable Mr Geelani reach Srinagar from Jammu. Mr Geelani left Jammu by air and was on time in Srinagar but informed the APHC leadership that he fell ill and could not attend the meeting. Inside reports said Mr Geelani might float a new party in case his voice remained unheard not only in the APHC but in Jamait-e-Islami too of which he is a senior leader. According to these reports, Mr Mohd Yasin Malik, may decide in favour of quitting the APHC provided he is given support by Mr Abdul Gani Lone. In that case the JKLF and Mr Lone’s Peoples’ Conference could join hands to form a political front against the pro-Pak forces in Kashmir. These reports said if Mr Malik left the APHC, efforts would be made to patch up his differences with the JKLF supremo, Mr Amanullah Khan. The two had fallen apart around 1993 when Malik and his followers did not like Mr Khan’s “dictating terms” to them. In fact there was no ideological dispute but it was simply the clash of egos. And Mr Lone, whose son is married to Khan’s daughter, could play the role of a mediator for bringing Khan and Malik closer again. However, Yasin Malik will have to think twice before walking out of the APHC because the JKLF has lost its political shine and weight which it carried between 1989 and 1994.
	Respond positively, Farooq urges Pak Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 11 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah has urged Pakistan to respond positively to the Indian initiative of establishing visa centres at various places, including Uri and said opening of the Rawalpindi road would enable people of the two sides to appreciate each others’ difficulties in a better way. The Chief Minister also described the forthcoming Indo-Pakistan summit as a big step towards right direction, but cautioned against expecting miracles. He was speaking at separate functions in connection with the first death anniversary of his mother, Begum Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, also known as Madar-e-Meharban. Farooq Abdullah said that the summit was a ray of light in the dark tunnel. He said the two countries were faced with many pulls and pressures and the difficult situation could be overcome by sagacious approach to the problem. Without naming any country, Dr Abdullah said that some people do not want friendship between India and Pakistan, as these two countries were their potential arsenal buyers. They wish for hostility to continue in the region, but it was for the peoples of these two neighbours to solve their problems as they face the brunt of the situation. The said history was testimony to hostilities turning into friendships. He envisioned conversion of SAARC into a meaningful union as that of European Union and African Union and said that Jammu and Kashmir could greatly benefit from such a common market. Paying tributes to Madar-e-Meharban Women and Child Welfare Institute, Miskeen Bagh and at Mazar-e-Qaid, Hazratbal here this afternoon, the chief minister, recalled her sacrifices during most turbulent days and said she worked relentlessly for the welfare and uplift of women and children. He said the people of the sub-continent in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular, pray for the success of the forthcoming Indo-Pakistan summit that would eventually led to the end of gun culture in the state. The people here had suffered immensely and lot of blood had been spilled, he said. The Chief Minister said the international community also wanted the problems between India and Pakistan to be solved bilaterally. “I see a very sincere, sagacious and pragmatic leader in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who wants peace to be restored in the region,” he said and added that Mr Vajpayee believed India to be the abode of people of all religions and races and wishes them all to prosper and flourish, even though he has RSS background.
	J & K Sikhs seek invitation for summit Tribune News Service Jammu, July 11 Several Sikh organisations, at a meeting held here today, appealed to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to invite representatives of the Sikhs living in Jammu and Kashmir, especially the leaders of the Gurdwara Parbandhak Board to the summit. This demand was contained in a resolution adopted at the meeting, which was presided over by Mr Mohinder Singh, chief organiser, Bhai Kanahiya Jee, Nishkam Seva Society. The resolution said that at least the Prime Minister should discuss certain issues connecting the Sikh community with the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir. The leaders of these organisations said that besides the settlement of the Kashmir issue there was need for resolving the problems of the large number of refugees from Pakistan staying in Jammu for the past 53 years. They said that General Musharraf has to be told about “our problems” so that some solution could be evolved which would enable “us” to lead a decent life. The meeting also impressed upon the Prime Minister to settle two other issues with General Musharraf. First, the SGPC should be allowed to look after the gurdwaras in Pakistan. Second, Pakistan has been giving visas to the Sikh Sangat from India to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan only twice a year. Since many do not get a chance to perform the pilgrimage, the Sikh leaders have requested Mr Vajpayee to persuade General Musharraf to keep the visa for the Sikh pilgrims open throughout the year. Wishing success for the summit, the Sikh leaders have urged Mr Vajpayee to give priority to the issue of refugees from Pakistan PoK living in Jammu since partition. Representatives from the state Akali Dal, AISSF, Singh Sabha, Youth Akali Dal participated in the meeting.
	G. M. Shah for tripartite talks Srinagar, July 11 Awami National Conference (ANC) President Ghulam Mohammad Shah has said that tripartite talks between India, Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir is the only way to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio once and for all. In a statement here today the former chief minister said past experiences had proved that the Kashmir issue could not be solved bilaterally between India and Pakistan or India and Kashmiris.. The ANC President, who is also the brother-in-law of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, said one should not lose sight of the fact that unless legitimate and mandatory representatives of the state were not involved in the process, the talks at any level would be futile. Mr Shah said conducive steps should be taken to make arrangements for tripartite talks between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris so as to explore possible solutions with an open mind. On the Agra summit between Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf he said: “We welcome it and hope that the Kashmir issue is supposed to be on top of the summit agenda.” He said every patriot and wellwisher of India and Pakistan should welcome the summit as dialogue was the only way to restore peace in the sub-continent. The former chief minister said time has come to overcome all hurdles for peace and tranquility and get rid of poverty, illiteracy, starvation, ignorance and ensure national honour, pride, integrity and identity to the Kashmiris as is being enjoyed by both the countries. UNI
	Travails of Amarnath Yatra ponywallas K. G. Dutt Sonemarg (Base Camp Amarnath Cave), July 11 No yatra to the holy cave of Amarnath is complete without the help of the ponywallas. These are the people who transport the infirm, aged, and young and children and women to the holy cave and back. They are the ones who are dexterous in handling their ponies that traverse the distance from Pehalgam and the Baltal base camp to the holy cave on narrow, arduous and dangerous hilly routes. Where do they come from, what type of lives they lead and how do they train their ponies to travel in such rough and dangerous terrain were some of the questions this correspondent had the chance to probe during his recent yatra to the Amarnath Cave? The one glaring factor which came out was that the ponywallas live a very hard life without even the basic facilities. Most of them reach the base camps from as far as Uri, Poonch, Rajouri and other border areas of Jammu and Kashmir. The Amarnath Yatra is taken as an annual ritual by them. Almost all of them rear sheep, goats and ponies when free from the yatra. Mohammad Yunus, who had been trekking the distance to the holy cave along with his pony for the past 20 years, told The Tribune that the yatra was a major source of income for the ponywallas. Therefore, everyone of them looked towards the yatra with hope and anxiety. Hope because it provided them money to run their households through the year when the weather remained unkind and snowy on the mountain peaks, and the anxious moments were the result of the rising wave of terrorism in the valley. Mohammad Iqbal, another ponywalla, maintained that they were “peace-loving people” and did not understand the tactics and strategies of terrorists and politicians. Their only concern was to earn enough money during the Amarnath Yatra and the Vaishno Devi yatra which continued throughout the year. He maintained that it was not an easy task to transport pilgrims to the holy cave and back safely on both routes. Mian Ali, another ponywalla, stated that each one of them started preparing for the yatra much in advance. The ponies were not only trained for the high hilly and narrow path journeys, but also fed well so that they might be able to undertake the month-long yatra without any fatigue and ailment. He stated that most of them came in groups from small hamlets situated on high hill tops and in the valley. The ponies were trained to travel even up to 16,000 to 20,000-foot-high mountains. The ponywallas also had to physically prepare themselves, because on high attitudes they had to run the risk of the less availability of oxygen. On reaching the base camp much in advance, the ponywallas have to run hither and thither to seek licences from the administration. Ordinarily, the registration of licences for the yatra is done by the Tehsildar of the area. It is an usual practice that the licences are given only some days before the official yatra starts. But the ponywallas start gathering near the base camp even one month in advance. This is so because a large number of people from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi who run free langars on the two routes reach much in advance to make preparations and store the needed goods on the yatra route. The ponywallas are the only transport available to them to take rations of the langars committees to the high altitudes. It is during these days that the ponywallas are exploited by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. A large number of them revealed that they had to shell out a fair amount of money to the police to carry goods to high altitudes because they did not possess valid licences by that time. In a number of cases, police personnel even engaged them for carrying their relatives to the holy cave and back without payment. The ponywallas alleged that even while seeking registration, they had to pay some amount of money to registration clerks and other officials. Besides, they were the victims of certain contractors. On the Katra-Vaishno Devi route, the ponywallas had recently gone on a prolonged strike against the attitude of the contractors. They had to shell out a fair amount of money out of their earning to the contractors, they alleged. On the Baltal-Amarnath Cave route, the ponywallas, in the initial stages, charge between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 for the journey to the cave and back. But as the rush of pilgrims increases, the rates by ponywallas are also increased. Although the administration claims that the charges by the ponywallas on both routes are fixed, yet the haggling between the ponywallas and the pilgrims is the order of the day. The security forces do not bother to enforce the rate list on the ponywallas as they largely oblige them. The ponywallas, who are also known as “bakarwalas” are Muslim Gurjars of the area. In a large number of cases, they prove very useful for the security forces operating in the area as they are well aware of the narrow hidden routes of the hilly terrain. Some of them even act as Intelligence agents for the security forces to provide vital information regarding the movement of the Pakistani security forces on other side of the border. Therefore, these people are not only a vital link for the successful completion of the Amarnath Yatra, but also an asset for the defence of the country in many cases. Their only grouse is that the administration has not taken steps for their welfare as an organised class.