Hurriyat will talk to the Pandits

Hurriyat will talk to the Pandits, K.N. Pandita

The news is that for the first time the Hurriyat will talk to the Pandits. They will visit their camps. It is to highlight their claim to “secularism”. But strangely, the thought of secularism

has struck them only after their recent meeting with the Pakistan President General Musharraf.

In any case the Pandits must receive them with traditional Kashmiri hospitality. They are our own beleaguered compatriots. They have to be shown utmost courtesy, regard and fraternal sentiments. Not an iota of anger or hatred has to be expressed intentionally or unintentionally. The interaction has to be in utmost cordial atmosphere, without bitterness and with all frankness and sincerity. The Hurriyat leaders are adepts in the art of conversation. And it has to be in Kashmiri language only because no side should miss the beauty and nuances of phraeology.

The Pandits need to ask them gently what messge did the leaders in PoK and Islamabad give and what do they want at the end of the day? The Pandits must ask Mir Waiz Sahib what did the chief of the Jihad Council say to him in Muzaffarbad meet about his idea of ” jihad-e musalsal” and of “secularism” in Kashmir? Did his secularisation also mean providing arms to the Pandits to fight the Indians?

The Pandits should ask him politely how would the “azaad” Kashmir deal with their gunmen like Bita Karate who said in a televised interview that after 22, he had lost the count of the Pandits he gunned down in 1990 and thereafter? They should ask him if his organisation would institute an enquiry into the killing and exodus of the Pandits especially in view of Hurriyat’s oft spoken views that Governor Jagmohan had bought them air tickets and sent them out. This was more said by Indian commentators than by the Kashmiris.

The Pandits need to ask the Hurriyat’s reaction on two recent situations relevant to Kashmir. The first is the statement of the PoK Prime Minister Mr. Sikandar Hayat Khan in the Legislative Assembly in which he said that they did not recognise the Hurriyat (A) as the true and the only representatives of Kashmir. This statement cast serious doubts on the credibility of the Hurriyat (A) and has created much confusion particularly in view of the rumours that the Hurriyat carries New Delhi’s agenda.

The second question on which the Pandits should seek Hurriyat’s clarification is that the leaders of the All Parties National Alliance of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan (APNA) have filed a writ petition in the “Azad Kashmir” high court challenging Islamabad’s refusal to give electoral rights to those who have been opposed to accession to Pakistan, and are demanding the reunification and independence of entire Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pandits should ask the Hurriyat why instead of enjoying feasts and dinners in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, they did not pay a three – day visit to Gilgit and Baltistan to meet with the local co-religionist leadership to ascertain their problems and how these could be solved in the broad framework of solution of Kashmir issue.

The chairman of the alliance, Mr Arif Shahid, pointed out at the press meet that those opposed to accession to Pakistan in these areas had to face rigorous imprisonment for several months. The law in force at present, according to Mr Shahid, bans any person living in “Azad Kashmir”, Gilgit or Baltistan from questioning accession to Pakistan, and those who do so are not allowed to join government service or contest elections of any representative institution in what they refer to as PAK (Pakistan-administered Kashmir). It was also a major violation of human rights, he maintained.

The alliance has taken the considered view that the Hurriyat leaders are not the true representatives of Kashmir and that it had been “hobnobbing with the secret agencies, their real sponsors and patrons, of Pakistan”. The APNA leaders demanded that both India and Pakistan should ensure a “wider and broader tour of political parties from PAK to the other side of the Line of Control”.

The APNA leaders had been keen to meet the visiting Kashmiri leaders but were not allowed to. The statements by the Pakistan establishment and the Hurriyat leaders during the visit appear to have lit a fire in their midst, as these were seen to be Indian Kashmir-centric, and not taking into account the long-standing demands of the people of Gilgit and Baltistan. A statement issued by the alliance recently has questioned media reports and Islamabad’s position that self-determination was only being demanded for the Indian part of Jammu and Kashmir. The organisation has re-emphasised the disputed nature of the region, insisted on self-determination for all, and made it clear that it expected a settlement of entire Jammu and Kashmir, and not just the Valley. He regretted that while the people on his side of the LoC know in the “minutest detail” what was going on in “Indian Kashmir”, it was unfortunate that information about “what is going on inside PAK” was not available. He said that the press conference was to inform people about the actual state of affairs, where “the real patriots”, and those who “believe in the reunification and independence of their motherland have been deprived of basic human rights in PAK for the last 57 years”.
The Pandits need to take up for discussion with the Hurriyat leadership the proposal of division of Kashmir anything from 3 to 6 parts as suggested by the Pakistan President and forthwith endorsed by the Hurriyat leadership after its meeting with the General. They need to ask for fuller details and put forth their demand for a Pandit Homeland in Kashmir Valley by the same token. The issue of return is not just the question of compatriot-ism or the mmunificence of a majority to accommodate a minority. Withstanding the universal law of goodwill of the majority as the best guarantee of a minority’s security, the Pandits need to convince the Hurriyat that today their demand for a Homeland within the valley is supported by all international and regional organisations and powers. Besides the good will of the majority, the Pandits are within their right to ask for constitutional, institutional and legal guarantees endorsed not only by India and Pakistan but also by the super powers and international organisations like the UN, the EU and the OIC because the Hurriyat considers Kashmir an international dispute.

In no case should the Pandits miss a rare opportunity of talking to the Hurriyat one to one. In no case should they say a word or a phrase that annoys or displeases the Hurriyat. The Pandits have a very strong case and a hundred cast iron arguments to lend weight to their demand. They should also remember that they should not care only for themselves and their future but also for the Hurriyat that is steeped in confusion, contradiction and indecision. The Pandits must help them out of this morass. This is their duty as compatriots and as those who have been on the receiving end and are able to construct a prosperous future for the State. The herdsman must collect and drive home his lost herd.

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