Talks with separatists on cards

PMO is likely to send the letter of invitations to moderate separatist leaders of Jammu and Kashmir for talks later this month when Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visits the state on October 18 for inauguration of the Anantnag-Qazigund leg of the Kashmir rail. It is good that Centre is keen to open channel of commuications with separatists, but it must be kept in view that during the Vajpayee-led NDA regime and Manmohan Singh-led UPA-1 in 2003 and 2005 respectively had held several rounds of talks without yielding any result. The BJP-led NDA government first brought the separatists to the negotiating table when it held two rounds of talks with the united Hurriyat in January and June 2003. The third round couldn’t materialise due to a change of government at the Centre and the Hurriyat split with the hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani walked out in protest. Geelani insists on Pakistan’s inclusion in the talks and a recognition of J&K’s disputed nature. The UPA government picked up the threads and held separate talks with Hurriyat, JKLF leader Yasin Malik and People’s Conference chief Sajjad Lone in late 2005 and early 2006. The Centre’s optimism most certainly has gone up by huge military successes against terrorists and setbacks separatists faced with the record turnout in last year’s assembly elections. It is seen as an attempt to co-opt the Hurriyat in the backdrop of the recent Shopian and Amarnath agitations. The Hurriyat-backed agitations saw some of the biggest pro-separatist rallies in two decades, which analysts believe could have been prevented had the Centre offered some concessions to them. The Hurriyat has used these rallies to show its representative character, more so when the Centre has tried to look the other way. It is also the mishandling of Omar Abdullah government of Shopian rape and murder incident that gave opportunities to hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to exploit the situation in favour of divisive forces.It must also be kept in view that the alarming rise in infiltration from across the border before the onset of winter might escalate the violence in Jammu and Kashmir. Given the present situation and role of the armed forces in the state, the demand for abrogation of AFSA and reduction of troops from urban area is irrelevant. It must not be considered by the Centre. Centre has stated its position umpteen times that it would not budge from bilateralism, while separatist leaders want trilateralism. They want the inclusion of Pakistan in talks on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. That is out of question.Moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Omer Farooq too wants to include Islamabad in the talks with Centre alongwith various factions of All Party Hurriat Conference (APHC). J & K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other mainstream parties have also thrown their weight behind the separatist-Centre dialogue. The issue was one of the major poll issues for both NC and PDP and Omar is believed to have lobbied hard for opening the channels of communication. The bipartisan support is seen as a good sign ahead of the talks. The Congress, however, has to walk a tightrope and can’t be seen as conceding too much given the backlash it could face in Jammu, where it has made substantial gains recently at the cost of BJP. There must be talks between moderate separatist leaders and the Centre to resolve the outstanding issues in Jammu and Kashmir but without compromising the national interest. The separatist leaders should pledge first the faith in the Constitution of India and its democratic process. Hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani wants merger of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan and another separatist leader and JKLF supremo Yasin Malik wants the independence of Jammu and Kashmir. But they must understand that Jammu and Kashmir is the integral part of India and it will remain so. Until and unless all separatist leaders come to the terms with the Centre, and continue to dance at the tune of Pakistan, any talk with them will be an exercise in futility.