All Parties Hurriyat Conference  (moderate) led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq  has raised a hype over its  forthcoming visit to Pakistan. It is being given out as if this visit would end all the miseries of Kashmiris and a Kashmir solution is just  waiting to happen. It is good that the Mirwaiz and his colleagues are visiting Pakistan and want to be heard and  draw a roadmap leading to the Kashmir solution.
Before, the question is raised that  how do they expect that  the solution  will come without talking to Delhi, it is time to count some positives  of this forthcoming visit. Much has changed in Kashmir and Pakistan during all these years – since the  Hurriyat  under its last visit to Kashmir in 2007. The two sides  have to fill in   many blanks of the   period   that has gone by. It is good that the two  sides should talk.
Although the factual position is that the Hurriyat Conference that was formed in 1992-1993  is  having no mandate this time to speak on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, yet sometimes the  people not mandated can work wonders. That miracle can happen if the Hurriyat Conference has ideas which can bring breakthrough in a situation  that is getting murkier day by day.  The Hurriyat and its leaders  should share their ideas with the people, whom they claim to  represent.
 I am sure that  the Hurriyat is conscious of the fact  these ideas should be in consonance with the ideas and with the changing situation in the  sub continent. It  also is a fact that the Mirwaiz who was  protagonist  of the United States of Jammu and Kashmir, and later he turned as a cheerleader of  former President of  Pakistan  Pervez Musharraf.  One can only hope that  the Hurriyat remembers what they were talking of when Musharraf was President of Pakistan: irrelevant borders, demilitarization from both sides of the Line of Control,  self governance and overarching body to look after the  entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, as it stood in  1947. Gilgit and Baltistan were included in that formula, though that four –point formula was  silent on the territory that Pakistan had gifted to China  for  constructing Karkoram highway. Again, it should be noted that Pakistan is also talking of including  China in the  talks on Kashmir.  Hurriayat got to reveal its mind first before   raising the hype as if Pakistan is  a panacea for Kashmir crisis.
Have they ever told  Pakistan that why it did 26/11 to India, thus bringing to a halt, what was till then a sustainable dialogue between India and Pakistan.  If they have some questions  for New Delhi, “what came out of the previous phases of dialogue with Delhi or what happened to various reports,”. Did they ever ask Pakistan, why Islamabad was raising tension on borders - tense borders can never  become irrelevant nor the demilitarization can take place in  such situations. This is a reality and it should  be accepted the way it was, any topping  would not help.
 What new are they going to offer to Pakistan to make their formula acceptable. Then they  would have also  to make it sure that  whatever they agree upon is acceptable to  both the Indian and Pakistani establishments - the establishment definition travels beyond the government.
Quite often,  a question is asked  by many in New Delhi. That is logical too.  “Why do the Hurriyat leaders  rush  to Pakistan  High Commission  in New Delhi on the invite of  a secretary or even junior officer, while they ignore the calls of the Indian government.” This  question  has  never been answered in a  satisfactory manner. First, has Pakistan satisfied  them. Pakistan’s role in  promotion of the insurgency, militancy and  destablisation is too obvious. Pakistan  has no friendly strategy toward the government of India to  settle the  issue. Nor  GoI has any  strategy to  draw  Kashmiris toward them. The fire fighting situations bring fire tenders and those are recalled  even before the  flames are put out for ever.
Though the political observers believe that this is not the best time for the Hurriyat to visit Pakistan at this stage, yet  if  it  can make any breakthrough it is welcome. For that it would have  first to recognize that unilateral dialogue   never delivers the desired results.

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Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 Dec 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 Dec 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 4 Dec 2012 00:00:00 IST