Close to three months after the start of the current unrest in Valley, chairman of the Hurriyat faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has set five conditions for New Delhi to review the continuation of the protests in Valley. Geelani has asked Centre to acknowledge Kashmir as an international issue, begin the process of demilitarization, release prisoners, punish the security personnel involved in the killings of the people, and end further killings and arrests.  This is the first time that the veteran leader has outlined his own terms of engagement with New Delhi, even though some of the conditions have been a staple of his political rhetoric.  For example, Geelani has always refused to engage with the New Delhi unless it considers Kashmir due for settlement through negotiations with Pakistan and of course Kashmiris as a third party.  He has also sought complete demilitarization. But this time around, Geelani has come up with three new conditions which given the absoluteness of his demands in the past are more specific to the current situation. The demands like the call for release of political prisoners and the punishment to the police personnel responsible for the recent killings are very much within the sphere of immediate possibility.  And therein lies the appeal of the Hurriyat chief’s current peace appeal. What is more, Geelani said if the five conditions are implemented on ground in letter and spirit, his Hurriyat faction will facilitate the creation of conductive atmosphere.  He said a consequent peaceful interregnum will also enable separatist leadership in the State to meet, consult and consolidate public opinion for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the democratic principle of right to self-determination.  Whatever the response from the Centre, these conditions show for the first time that Geelani is ready to be a part of the long-winding process of Kashmir resolution provided the negotiations are informed by an understanding on the part of New Delhi to find a durable solution.  Here is an opportunity that New Delhi will do well to built upon. For these conditions have come from a leader who has acquired some kind of a moral power which no other leader in Valley has under the circumstances.  And if Geelani has decided to come around to a process of engagement, the opportunity needs to be seized.  In the past, New Delhi has snorted at these conditions and sought to engage in drawn dialogues that ended up nowhere, thereby demoralizing the Kashmiri leaders who were a part of them.  This history has made Geelani wary of any contact with New Delhi, seeing in it a potential threat to his painstakingly protected political reputation in the State. This is why, he has always staked out a maximalist position before expressing his willingness for the talks.  But this time, bolstered by an absolute support from the Kashmir street, Geelani has made an effort to engage on more realistic terms. He has deliberately left out Pakistan, United Nations resolutions  and tripartite talks from his set of five conditions and sought to sort these out at a subsequent stage.  As for the five conditions are concerned, they should not be impossible to meet.  More so, when there is a broad political consensus across Kashmir on four of these conditions – leaving the one about Kashmir as an international issue.   The numerous rounds of dialogue with Pakistan over the past six decades and even for that matter more recently with the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference are underpinned with this realization.  There is no point why a dialogue with the Valley’s by far the most estranged leader should be kept hostage to the questions about terminology.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 1 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 1 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 2 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST