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APHC:
Participate or Perish
The
Kashmir Telegraph says.........
In the
September-October 2002, Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority
state of the Indian Union, is scheduled to go to the polls, an event
that is keenly awaited in political and diplomatic circles. Recent
reports regarding hectic behind the scene parleys to persuade APHC
to participate in the elections, has generated a lot of interest.
New Delhi has opened channels of communication with the APHC with
senior official Wajahat Habibullah armed with the specific plan of
convincing the Hurriyat leaders to participate in the forthcoming
elections. He has had wide ranging discussions on the subject with
Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat, and other leaders, and the
initial reaction is unenthusiastic. For quite some time, serious
doubts have been raised regarding the representative character of
the APHC, which according to many is basically a representative
organisation of the Sunni Muslims, as it does not have any
representations from the other minorities of the state (Hindus,
Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and others). The 1987 State Assembly
elections were widely regarded as rigged, the Muslim United Front
(MUF) — local name: Muslim Muthada Mahaz — as a coalition of
opposition parties, was robbed of any chance to win seats. Although
it is unlikely that the MUF would have won more than a dozen seats,
they would have become a political force, pushing state politics in
a more “pluralist direction”.The year 1996 saw elections taking
place for the Indian Parliament in May and the state Assembly in
September. While both the National Conference and the Hurriyat
Conference boycotted the former, the latter saw the participation of
the National Conference who campaigned on a ‘maximum autonomy’
ticket. APHC who again boycotted the polls were primarily
responsible for the low voter turnout in the valley, with its
boycott call. The National Conference state government was elected
with Farooq Abdullah as chief minister.Hurriyat leaders are tempted
to participate in the forthcoming elections provided the same are
part of the entire process leading to a “negotiated settlement” of
the Kashmir issue. Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, a prominent leader
and former chairman of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat
Conference, said that the elections would only help if these were a
part of the process for a final settlement of the
issue.
Other APHC leaders, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, Abdul Gani Lone
and Abbas Ansari, echo similar views. APHC leaders, however, insist
that any negotiated settlement should be done in accordance with the
United Nation’s resolutions, which according to them could better
preserve the dignity and honour of the people of Kashmir.Analysts
point out that the insistence of the APHC to solve the issues
pertaining to Kashmir through United Nations resolutions is the main
stumbling block, in achieving the breakthrough in talks with the
APHC.
However, the strongest critiques of the APHC insist that
discussions with APHC on the question of participation in elections
is a futile exercise in vain, because such a step undermines the
role of Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. An analyst points out that
since the APHC functions on the explicit instructions of the
Pakistani establishment, to think that the organisation can play a
part in the process of normalisation of the valley and lend
credibility to the contemplated poll for the J&K Assembly by
condescending to join the fray is thus an exercise in futility. The
latest move by the APHC to constitute an “election commission” of
its own for conducting elections in whole of Jammu and Kashmir,
including Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to establish its
“representative” character for any future tripartite talks, is seen
as many as an attempt by the conglomerate to achieve two purposes;
firstly to neutralise the National Kashmir Committee under the
leadership of former PoK president Sardar Abdul Qayoom; secondly to
stay in the reckoning and continue to keep the pressure on New Delhi
to kick start some sort of a political process.
Many in the
polito-diplomatic circles also see this as a crucial year for the
65-year-old chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The inability of
the National Conference to make any headway with its “autonomy
package” and the joining of the BJP led government at the centre,
are two main issue apart from rampant corruption, which have not
gone down well with the Kashmiris. However, Abdullah, who is
aspiring to become president (or even vice president) is putting up
a bold front and uses every opportunity to dare the APHC to contest
the forthcoming elections. India must ensure free and fair elections
to the state Assembly and, “to carry the conviction within Kashmiris
and the world at large, India should not hesitate to invite
independent international observers to oversee these elections. So
many other countries have done that, and it does not compromise our
sovereignty." A process of reconciliation with ordinary Kashmiris
has to be undertaken to end the strife in the Valley, a process,
which many believe, will bring peace and prosperity to the
strife-torn valley.
APHC
has a golden opportunity to seize the initiative and “abjuring
violence is a long overdue initiative that the Hurriyat should have
taken ages ago; but it should still be welcome if it places the
militant political leaders on the side fighting terrorism." The
political process in the state must now seek to firmly establish the
democratic principle and a polity that can look forward to bringing
peace, reconciliation and reconstruction in the state. The Hurriyat
must play a responsible role in the future as a dissenting entity to
the existing political parties.”
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