New Delhi, April 17
On the eve of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to the Kashmir valley, several Pakistani origin exiled leaders announced the formation of the International Kashmir Alliance (IKA), throwing a spanner in the Pakistani establishment.
The launch of the IKA was announced through a press conference a few days ago from a Pakistani restaurant in London.
Prominent Kashmiri leaders who have floated the IKA include Dr Syed Nazir Gilani, Dr Shabir Choudhry (both UK), Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri (Switzerland), Mohammad Mumtaz Khan (Canada), Mr Abbas Butt (UK), Mr Nayeem Khan (Austria), Mr Zulfikar Aziz (France) and Mr Atiqur Rahman (Belgium).
The Pakistani media predictably ignored the development and the Pakistani establishment initially chose to undermine the move by declaring it as the handiwork of Indian intelligence agencies.
As the full impact of the alliance comprising some wellknown former "Young Turks" of the Pakistan-sponsored Kashmiri nationalist movement sank in, the managers of the Kashmir issue from across the Line of Control were forced to discuss the issue at an executive board meeting of the Hurriyat on Tuesday.
The Pakistani media, which ignored the formation of the IKA, gave coverage to the statement of the Hurriyat spokesman, Sheikh Abdul Rashed, following the executive board meeting, in which he said the new organisation was aimed at damaging the Kashmiri "liberation" movement.
Diplomatic observers here said the strong reaction of the Hurriyat was prompted by the realisation that these leaders were perhaps taking their cue from influential western capitals which were repeatedly giving indication that they were poised to get engaged in seeking some sort of breakthrough in the current Indo-Pak impasse.
These Kashmiri leaders from the PoK and northern areas, once at the forefront of the secular and moderate political leadership, have probably been primed to take advantage of the scenario and occupy the political space which would follow the inevitable marginalisation of militant politics.
The observers said Pakistan was perturbed over the move as it could seriously undermine its carefully cultivated focus on the Indian side and many in fact lead to nationalist stirrings in its own side.
