When politicians are not flexible in their statements about Kashmir, how can we expect a flexibility in managing boarders and territories. We are passing through 64th year of Kashmir problem which has affected peace in the entire South Asian region. So many developments have taken place since 1947 to resolve Kashmir issue but all in vain. It was in Oct.27, 1947 when undeclared war broke out between India and Pakistan in Kashmir barely two months after their Independence from Britain. Ceasefire was ordered by the United Nations Security Council which took effect in Kashmir.

Negotiations lasted till 1954 without resolving the Kashmir problem. In 1965 (September 6 -22) full scale India – Pakistan war over Kashmir began in the Rann of Kutch which ended after United Nations called for ceasefire.

Various rounds of talks were held from time to time between  the Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and Foreign Secretaries of two countries, but without any fruitful results. On February 21, 1999 Vajpayee made a historic trip to Lahore by bus. Vajpayee signed Lahore Declaration which promised to intensify efforts to resolve all issues, including that of Jammu & Kashmir.

In 2001 Vajpayee invited Musharraf for bilateral talks at Agra which is popularly known as Vajpayee-Musharraf Agra summit. The government of India’s then interlocutor on Kashmir, K.C. Pant, said that the move by the centre to start negotiations with Pakistan was not going to effect the dialogue process with the Kashmiri leaders. Basically the intentions of two leading parties of India i.e. Congress and BJP are not good to resolve the Kashmir problem. If we go into details during the BJP rule they were saying something different as they say presently. Same is the case with the Congress party and even the Congress party dodged the talks between Vajpayee and Musharraf held at Agra. Sonia Gandhi welcomed then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s decision to hold talks with Musharraf, but expressed surprise over the then BJP led Government’s change of stand vis-a-vis Kashmir.

Omar Abdullah, the then Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in BJP led Government said that instead of focussing only on J&K, Pakistan should grant the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Status to India to improve trade ties between the two countries. This indicates how these politicians change their minds while in power. Today his attitude is entirely different.

Farooq Abdullah, the then chief minister of J&K said that it was a logical step. After all, it is for India and Pakistan to resolve the dispute. There should be no role for any third party, be it a country or self-pro-claimed representatives for the people of J&K.

Hurriyat conference’s then leader Abdul Ghani Bhat suggested a wait and watch policy. He said, `we still believe that tripartite talks could produce better results by including the Principal party which is Kashmir.'

Chief of the United Jehad council and Supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen , Syed Salahuddin asked General Pervez Musharraf to weigh Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s invitation for talks on Kashmir issue before accepting it. 

 APHC leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said, `summits have so far not solved anything, the people of J&K should decide their own fate in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.Then United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed India’s invitation to Pakistan to hold talks on Kashmir. Thus everyone described the problem and the solution his own way.

Vajpayee  wrote a  9-point  charter for Musharraf in which Kashmir figured as the main issue. He had  written that there are vast differences between the two countries on J&K. He meant that India is willing to address these differences and move forward. In reply Musharraf said India was allergic to calling Kashmir a “dispute”, “I would not mind it being described as an issue”. “We cannot even agree to a word, how can we move forward?” and he further said that “The biggest confidence building measure is Kashmir”.

The time had come to “catch the bull by the horns and not put the cart before the horse”. The Pakistan media absolved Musharraf on the failed Agra talks, putting the blame squarely on India’s  “intransigence” on the Kashmir issue.
Much has happened since. A lot of debates on Kashmir issue but nothing seems to have come through. What we need is a serious departure from the stated positions. That is the only way ice can be broken from both the sides.

(Feedback at mubashirbaba@rediffmail.com)

Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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