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PDP leader for dialogue with militants
Tribune News service

Srinagar, August 26
Describing Kashmir as an “intricate issue with different dimensions”, senior PDP leader Tariq Hameed Qarrah here today advocated dialogue with militants, excluding foreigners, to find an everlasting and amicable solution to the problem in Jammu and Kashmir. He said self-rule and not the autonomy could be a solution to the problem, saying autonomy could be termed as just a component of a solution that is envisaged in the PDP's self-rule formula.

The senior PDP leader and Minister for Housing and Urban Development and Forests, Mr Qarrah was participating in the plenary session on the second day of the three-day conference “Indian Federalism at Work”, organised by the Institute of Social Sciences that began here yesterday. The plenary session on “Conflict Management and Accommodation of Identity” this morning was presided over by Dr Asghar Ali Engineer, Chairman of the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai. Ms Asma Jehangir, Chairperson of Human Rights Commission, Pakistan, and Ms Judith Large from the International-IDEA, Stockholm, also participated in the discussions.

“We are the strongest advocates of dialogue with all groups and militants…. We have been pursuing this policy both in and outside the power”, said Mr Tariq Hameed Qarrah in reply to questions after the papers were read out. “Dialogue process should be started with gun- wielding youth, only those belonging to the state and not those from outside or foreigners,” he commented. He said following the two roundtable conferences held on Kashmir, the Prime Minister had pointed out that autonomy and self-rule were the two options that could be discussed for final and peaceful solution of Jammu and Kashmir problem.

The PDP leader said the whole peace process was a zig zag one, with different approaches while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to “look for new pathways”. He differentiated it with the views of two former Prime Ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and PV Narasimha Rao, and added that many sensitivities had to be taken care of by both neighbouring countries. Both India and Pakistan have to “recognise the sensitivities” of each other, he said and held that the people of Kashmir have to understand the sensitivities of the two countries. He asserted that people of both countries were in the driving seat at the moment and the issue could not be afforded to be left to those handling it saying that would lead to more harm.

In his remarks, Dr Asghar Ali Engineer observed that India having been diverse since the beginning of history had not faced such conflicts in the past and added that the causes of present conflicting situation were due to lack of justice. Different communities, regions and castes were not being treated properly, as these should have been under the Constitution, he lamented. “Conflict arises only when justice is not done,” he commented. He held that the Indian Constitution tries to accommodate all the diverse aspects of society but lamented that it “does not happen on the ground”. Dr Engineer remarked that there was no social democracy but parliamentary democracy prevalent in the country. “It is time to meet the aspirations of the people of the country”, he commented and added that only then justice can be delivered and conflicts resolved.