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APHC
has no option, but to initiate talks
Romeet
K Watt
All
Party Hurriyat Conference,
a.k.a Kul Jamaat
Hurriyat Conference
in the local lingo, and better known by its acronym, APHC,
is often portrayed as the ‘political face’ of the separatist
bandwagon in Kashmir, with both the national as well as the
international media, time and again exaggerating the significance of
the conglomerate in the given scheme of things.
Though
APHC is known to be an umbrella organization of more than two-dozen
groups, the reality is that some of its constituents are so small
that their existence in the political spectrum of Kashmir, is by and
large, inconsequential. Consequently, to say that APHC consists
primarily of about 8-10 groups would be to state the obvious.
Even,
some of the larger and better known constituents like the Peoples’
Conference of the Lone clan, have limited sphere of influence
confined to certain specific pockets in the Valley. It may be
pertinent to recall that out of a dozen or so seats contested by the
proxy candidates put up by the party in the October 2002 elections,
Peoples’ Conference was only able to muster a solitary seat,
although one must admit that it lost two other seats to National
Conference in a close contest.
Most
of APHC’s members are separatists, who favour an independent
state, though there are some, who favour Pakistan and one, the
Kashmir Bar Association is apolitical in nature. APHC as an
organisation is widely believed to be “deeply divided on goals,
means, and strategies, including whether to continue the armed
struggle or participate in the political process.”
In
the post election scenario, APHC is fast losing hope and if the
statement made by its executive council member, M A Ansari, sometime
back is any indication, the conglomerate has climbed down from its
known stand –- the insistence for tripartite talks involving
Indian, Pakistan and people of Kashmir (read APHC). Instead, it has
agreed in principle to hold direct, one to one, negotiations with
the designated negotiator of New Delhi.
With
the inability of the organization to participate in the elections,
largely because “most
of the APHC leaders, have only a narrow individual following and no
real political experience”, it is important for APHC to bring
itself back into reckoning – a do or die situation -- by
initiating negotiations with New Delhi.
Commenting
on the developments, one Home Ministry official speaking on the
condition of anonymity told Kashmir
TELEGRAPH that
the developments were
by and large a ‘way forward’ and were being ‘carefully
monitored.’ However, other sources, have confirmed that New Delhi
will not hasten the process, and will take its time to decide on the
future course of events, only after gauging the reactions from
Islamabad.
Policy
makers on Kashmir within the government however see these
developments as vindication of New
Delhi’s stand, which calls for talks with the separatist elements
in the Valley, detached from any talks with Pakistan. Despite the
insistence of APHC to accommodate Pakistan at some later stage,
officials described the climb-down as a ‘major policy shift’ in
the separatist camp.
The
dialogue process, many believe would be welcomed by the people of
Kashmir. APHC, if the initial reactions are to be believed, is also
keen, which stems from the fact that the party is fast losing its
credibility and writ, with PDP being the major gainer at its
expense. This development is also seen in polito-diplomatic circles
as a serious setback to the Ram Jethmalani led Kashmir Committee,
which has been accused of double-talk by some of the important
constituents of APHC.
Political
observers based in the Valley have also attached great significance
to the commencement of talks, lest they point out , APHC would be
reduced to playing second fiddle to PDP, who have been fast making
inroads into the areas, where the writ of APHC has been supreme,
since the inception of
militancy, over more than a decade ago.
One
of the principled stands that APHC has taken over the period of time
is that violence and gun-culture cannot be used as the ways and
means of achieving what it describes as the right to self
determination of the people of Kashmir. (Some constituents dispute
this stand) So, sooner or later, it has to come to the negotiating
table.
Speaking
on the condition of anonymity, a high ranking member of APHC told Kashmir
TELEGRAPH from New Delhi that there is a
general consensus in the rank and file within the party for an
earnest need to start negotiations with the Indian leadership as
soon as possible. “We cannot wait for the normalization of
relations between Indian and Pakistan, which if the indications are
to be believed instead of improving, has hit a new nadir; and under
the circumstances we have little option but to get on with the
negotiation process,” the official said, while explaining the
party position.
One
of the major setbacks for APHC has been the volte-face of the State
Department of the US of A, who in the past has ensured that its
high-ranking officials on visit to New Delhi do hold parleys with
APHC, and provide them with the much needed patronage of
sorts.
With
no Cristina Roccos’ to lend a shoulder to cry on, APHC is finding
it increasingly difficult to further their agenda, which to a large
extent is dictated by the stern instructions issued by the Pakistani
embassy in New Delhi. However, if the indications are to be
believed, the party is all set to pursue its own agenda, which calls
for talks with New Delhi without the involvement of Pakistan, at
least to begin with.
Pakistan
and militant groups having foreign mercenaries in its cadre, have
been estranged by the successful Kashmir elections. Neither will
welcome dialogue processes between APHC and New Delhi, and both will
be enticed to play the spoiler's role. The fact that some of the
high ranking members of APHC have been bullied by the militant
organizations in the past at the behest of Islamabad is a well known
fact, the result being that the party has been blindly toeing the
line dictated by Islamabad.
However,
with the people of Kashmir getting increasingly disillusioned with
the stand of the APHC, the party has little option but to initiate
talks with New Delhi even at the expense of risking their own lives.
Though the political situation in Kashmir still remains fragile to
some extent, the ‘peace constituency’, which had been
‘passive’ for quite some time has become ‘active.’
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