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| Monday, December 11, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Ceasefire means to an end: J&K trifurcation inevitable: Ladakhi
leaders CM inaugurates
renovated tunnel 48.87 lakh visit Vaishno
Devi |
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Ceasefire means to an end: APHC chief SINCE he took over as Chairman of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in July this year, Mr Abdul Ghani Bhat has witnessed major initiatives for giving peace a chance in trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir. While the response of the 23-party APHC was mute and conflicting when the Hizbul Mujahideen declared a unilateral ceasefire in July, it has adopted a bold and forward-looking stand to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s offer to cease combat operations against militants during the fasting month of Ramadan in Jammu and Kashmir. Acutely aware that they must play an active role and not let the peace initiative slip out of their hands this time, the APHC is keen on getting negotiations off the ground. Mr Bhat maintains that India and Pakistan have to take “bigger steps” for permanent peace in the subcontinent. At the same time he is cautiously optimistic that Mr Vajpayee’s offer holds the portends of finding a lasting solution to the protracted Kashmir problem. Eloquent and expressive, the 65-year-old APHC Chairman warns that if the parties concerned fail to seize the opportunity, the coming generations would not forgive them. Q: While the Hurriyat has endorsed the ceasefire announced by Mr Vajpayee, militant outfits have not. Where do you see the peace process heading for? A: We believe that a collective effort needs to be put in to achieve a breakthrough in the peace process. It is true that the Hurriyat endorsed the ceasefire offer with courage and conviction. We believe that the ceasefire is a means to an end, aimed at finding a permanent solution to the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir. When we came to know that boys with guns have not accepted the ceasefire, we proposed to the Indian Government to allow us to travel to Pakistan to talk to the boys, know their apprehensions and convince them so that peace is given a chance. We must not lose this opportunity and talk with purpose so that the dispute is resolved peacefully and amicably. Q: But is it not happening already as Mr Abdul Ghani Lone is in Pakistan holding talks with various groups there? A: Mr Lone went to Pakistan when the ceasefire was not announced. He was there for his son’s marriage and did not consult his people before going nor did we ask him to undertake any assignment. He was on a private trip. When such an assignment has to be undertaken, you need consultation and indepth study. We had not assigned him (Mr Lone) any job. Q: But has he had some informal talks (in Pakistan)? A: Of course, when he is there he must have met people of different shades of opinion. He met Pakistan’s Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf. Who knows, he may have met the boys with guns also. What is important is that when you go there (to Pakistan) on business, when you are on a mission and have a mandate, you can take decisions also. Q: Did Mr Lone consult you from Pakistan? A: The APHC is an independent political forum. We do not take dictation from anyone. In the APHC, anyone who advances a substantial argument is given due respect for his opinion. The issue of the APHC going to Pakistan for interaction with the boys is very sensitive and, if I go a step further, it can be very dangerous too. I do not exaggerate things and anything can happen. Therefore, such decisions and consultations cannot be held over the telephone. Q: Does it mean there has not been any contact with Mr Lone during his stay in Rawalpindi or Islamabad? A: Well, remember, our phone lines are not safe. And we want to undertake the exercise in a transparent manner the reasons for which are not far to seek. We do not want to play a hide-and-seek game because survival of the whole subcontinent is at stake. Remember, Kashmir is bigger than India and Pakistan put together. India and Pakistan went nuclear because of Kashmir. The whole world is engaged one way or the other in concentrating on Kashmir. Therefore, you cannot afford to play hide and seek where the issue of survival is involved. You have to be very cautious in the choice of words, imaginative in throwing up ideas and realistic in moving forward. If you don’t do it, you may have to eat humble pie. India, Pakistan and the APHC should say in one voice that they represent the urge for peace and do not want to live in tension anymore. Q: Do you see any immediate prospects of talks taking off and the ceasefire offered by Mr Vajpayee being extended beyond Ramadan? A: You have to go beyond Ramadan. Don’t be stuck-up in the month of Ramadan. We do not have any alternative other than seizing this opportunity, capitalising on it and moving in a direction to restore peace and improve relations between India and Pakistan. Q: The Indian government finds a slight and welcome change in the attitude of Pakistan. Do you share this view? A: India has taken one step while Pakistan has taken two. One is the restraint along the Line of Control and the other of inviting the APHC to Pakistan and suggesting that India should invite the APHC for talks. Q: Pakistan has said it is willing to take part in tripartite talks with India. What do you have to say? A: You cannot go against this principle. If you leave out the principal party, you end up nowhere. Q: But India has ruled out tripartite talks? A: The Hurriyat wants to talk to India and Pakistan. We cannot be or pass for mediators as the Hurriyat is a party to the dispute. We seek to generate a propitious climate so that bridges of understanding come up. Q: India says it will talk to the Hurriyat and all those involved with the Kashmir problem in Jammu and Kashmir? A: There has to be just one level for the talks — that of humanity. I quote Mr Vajpayee’s words of humanism. Humanism does not approve of levels for different sets of people. There has to be identical standard. Q: But APHC members are Indians whereas Pakistan is a third party outside India’s frontiers? A: We dispute this because we belong to a disputed territory. India and Pakistan are parties to the dispute. India and Pakistan have fought three wars in the past. If there was no dispute, there would not be references in the United Nations. There would not have been a ceasefire either. You cannot allow your own people to languish in jails and shed their blood cheaply. Let us forget the past which is bitter and try to make the future better. Q: While the Hurriyat would like to travel to Pakistan to talk to militants about the peace process, has it used its influence over militants to abjure violence in the valley? A: The leadership is not available in the valley. The boys are there but they are not in a position to take decisions, particularly substantive decisions. Q: Do you think there is a feeling among militants that talking through the gun would not help? A: Violence breeds violence. Violence was forced on the people of Jammu and Kashmir after which they took to guns. The situation is alarmingly explosive and violence must stop. A comprehensive peace process has now been initiated and it should include people at all levels to achieve a breakthrough. The boys will have to fall in line whether there is a realisation or otherwise among them. If the peace process is not derailed at the state level, each one of us will have to fall in line. If a boy with gun is assured that we are seeking a permanent solution to the problem, why should he stake his life and endanger his future. He will throw away his gun rather than his head. Q: What compromises and concessions is the Hurriyat willing to consider to get the talks off the ground? A: I agree in principle that we have to be flexible. All parties have to be large-hearted and far-sighted. If and when the talks start, all of us have to rise above yesterday’s bitterness and move forward with a sense of direction. India is a big country and has to take bigger steps. Pakistan will have to do so likewise. We will take many small steps when the time comes. Peace does not happen in vacuum. It has to be purchased for which each one of us has to make sacrifices. |
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J&K trifurcation inevitable: Ladakhi leaders LEH, Dec 10 (PTI) — Cutting across party lines, all political parties in the Leh region of Jammu and Kashmir support the demand for a union territory status for Ladakh and see the trifurcation of the state as the only long-lasting solution to the “Kashmir chaos”. “Trifurcation of the state is the only solution to Kashmir imbroglio. The three regions of the state have different aspirations, and they should be granted to them. Kashmiris want autonomy, but Ladakh and Jammu do not want it.” said Mr N. Rigzin Jora, executive councillor in the recently elected Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). Mr Jora, however, dispelled the argument that giving greater autonomy to Kashmir meant handing it over to Pakistan on a platter. “In the beginning of the past decade, 95 per cent of the Kashmiris were on streets and up against India. I think it is long overdue now that the wishes of the people be respected,” Mr Jora said. Though parties like the ruling National Conference and the Hurriyat Conference, the separatist conglomerate, have opposed any suggestion of division of the state, Mr Jora feels that the ‘greater autonomy resolution’ passed by the state assembly was a “covert” attempt to divide the state along “communal lines”. Mr Omar Abdullah, Minister of State for Commerce and Industries and president of the Youth National Conference, on the issue of trifurcation has said, “We are not going to heed to that request. Moreover, any division of the state will be heeding to Jinnah’s two-nation theory that Muslims cannot live with Hindus.” “We in Jammu and Kashmir have always maintained communal harmony and our party will ensure that the secular fabric of the state is not to destroyed,” he has said. However, some leaders in the Himalayan desert region of Ladakh do not agree with him. They feel that Ladakh was not treated on equal terms with other two regions of the state. Ladakh Buddhist Association Youth Wing president Lama Nyantak maintains that the state government divided Ladakh region along communal lines by carving out Kargil district from Muslim majority areas. Mr Sonam Rinchen, president of the Leh unit of the BJP, agrees with Mr Nyantak’s statement but on developmental issues. “In all the 53 years of independence, Ladakhis thought that the three regions of the state were like three brothers and tried to strengthen brotherhood, but we received step-brotherly treatment from successive state governments,” Mr Rinchen said. He said the three regions of the state were remarkably different and “trifurcation was inevitable”. He blamed the state government for the “despicable” situation of Ladakh and said. “Whatever little infrastructure one can see in Leh is due to the defence commitment of the country and presence of the Army.” President of the Leh National Conference Lampa Norboo treated a cautious note and said his party followed the high command’s line on trifurcation but “we will have to respect the wishes of the people of Ladakh on trifurcation as well as the union territory status issue”. Mr Norboo, however, felt that union territory status issue was being misused by some vested interests. “This should not happen. The Ladakh Buddhist Association is genuinely concerned about the welfare of the Ladakhis, but they are being taken for a ride by the Congress party,” he added. However, the Leh Congress party blames the ruling National Conference and the state government for the rejuvenated demand for the union territory status and the trifurcation of the state. “There is lack of coordination, cooperation and understanding within the three regions of the state, which has resulted in non-uniform development,” said a senior Congress activist in Leh. |
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CM inaugurates
renovated tunnel JAMMU, Dec 10 (PTI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, today inaugurated the renovated western tube of the Jawahar tunnel, which provides the only surface link of the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, at Banihal, 200 km from here. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which maintains the Jammu and Kashmir national highway, had closed down the western tube for repair for the past 3-4 years. It has been repaired at a cost of Rs 15 crore. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Abdullah lauded the BRO for renovating the tube and said steps had been taken to provide emergency help in the event of breakdown of vehicles. |
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JAMMU, Dec 10 (UNI) — A record number of 48.87 lakh pilgrims from various parts of the country have visited the holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi since January this year. During the corresponding period last year, 43.75 lakh pilgrims had darshan of the shrine. During November, as many as 4,19,628 pilgrims paid obeisance, of them 3,76,328 were from outside the state. |
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