Fear of prolonged violence grips Kashmir as Centre fails to break the ice with separatists

The Home Minister announced that parliamentary delegation leaders who met the Hurriyat leaders did so in their individual capacities, thereby distancing himself from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s overtures towards the separatists.

This has further weakened Mehbooba’s position as a leader in Kashmir. Mehbooba had written a letter to the separatists to come forward and engage with the parliamentary delegation. This development will further complicate problems for the ruling alliance of the PDP-BJP led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

That the BJP was not on board Mehbooba’s decision to invite Hurriyat for talks was reinforced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement that Mehbooba had approached the separatists in her individual capacity.

For people like Umar Wani, a resident of Rajbagh area of Srinagar, the failure to initiate talks is a big disappointment. “BJP’s Ram Madhav says Kashmir can ask for the moon within the Indian Constitution. Then why doesn’t the BJP leadership offer the same to Hurriyat? If they reject, the blame will come on them,” Wani told Firstpost after Home Minister Singh’s press conference.

“But right now, they are offering nothing. Why should the Hurriyat talk to them? There has to be a starting point for talks. I fear the situation will worsen now,” he added.

Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Bhat told Firstpost that said that unless India and Pakistan do not engage in a sustained meaningful dialogue on Kashmir, the issue will never be resolved.

“They have to listen to the heartbeats of Kashmir. We got honored guests from Delhi and met them and later saw them off very gracefully. We were not against insaniyat. We had taken a collective decision not to meet them because they had no mandate,” Bhat told Firstpost.

Kashmir is unlikely to see the return of the normalcy any time soon and the cycle of violence is likely to prolong following the failure of the central government to break the ice. More than 70 people have been killed in the past 58 days, triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. There is no ray of hope that the unrest is turning weak, but with every new killing, injury or arrest, the people are getting angrier.

Dr Peer GN Suhail, director of Centre for Research and Development Policy (CRDP), a policy think tank based in Srinagar, said that there is no harm in talking to anyone but the dialogue has to be result-oriented and not just for photo-op.

“Since the parliament delegation did not have any mandate and there recommendations would not have been binding on the Government of India, talking to the delegation would have yielded results,” Suhail told Firstpost.

Despite all this, the situation in Kashmir will return to normalcy because as the Darbar shifts to Jammu and winter sets in, the chill automatically will calm the temperatures. But this will be temporary, because the seeds of angst buried under snow often sprout in summers in the form of another summer agitation.


Source:-firstpost
View more:EMAIL DATABASE

India's future incomplete without peaceful Kashmir: Rajnath Singh

 Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday made a passionate appeal for peace in the Kashmir Valley, saying India's future was incomplete without a peaceful Kashmir and announced that an all-party delegation will visit the state soon for talks on ending a protracted violent unrest that has killed nearly 70 people since July 9.

At a press conference towards the end of his two-day Kashmir tour, Rajnath Singh conceded a popular demand, saying that an alternative to the use of pellet guns as a tool to control unruly mobs would be found "in a few days".

During his stay in Srinagar, the Home Minister said he met some 300 people, including leaders of all political parties in the state, with whom he had "good talks".

"Everybody wants peace to be restored. We are extremely sad over the situation. We are pained over the loss of lives," the minister said with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti by his side.

In an oblique reference to separatist leaders, the Home Minister said people should "not play with the future of Kashmiri youth".

"They (youth) should hold books, pens and laptops in their hands and not stones," he said. "We are linking the future of Kashmiri youth with the future of India. And I appeal to Kashmir people to identify those who are creating trouble."

India's future, he said, is intrinsically linked to the future of Kashmir.

He said leaders of all political parties will soon visit here for talks on finding ways to break the logjam in the valley. "I have asked the state government to make all preparations for that."

Asked if he invited separatist leaders — who have been spearheading the agitation — for talks, Rajnath Singh said the government was ready to hold talks with anyone who believed in "insaniyat, jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat".

Notably, he didn't name Pakistan for stoking trouble in the valley and didn't repeat that talks over Kashmir will only be held under the realm of the Constitution of India — unlike previously.

It was the minister's second visit to the valley in a month since the unrest, the deadliest in six years, erupted after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

At least 67 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in firing by security forces at pro-freedom demonstrations. Most of the injuries have been caused by pellet guns that have left hundreds partially or fully blinded.

Mehbooba Mufti justified the killings by security forces saying those hit by bullets or pellets had not gone to fetch milk or toffees.

She was asked how she justified the alleged disproportionate use of force against Kashmiri protesters when as opposition leader she had criticised the government during a similar unrest in 2010 for civilian killings. The Chief Minister got angry and asked a reporter not to compare the two situations.

"You are wrong. What happened in 2010 had a reason. There was a fake encounter in Machil. Three civilians were killed. Today three militants were killed in an encounter and how is the government to be blamed for that," she said, referring to Wani's killing.

She said people had come out on the roads even though the government had imposed a strict curfew.

"Had a kid gone to buy a toffee from an army camp? A 15-year-old boy who attacked a police station (in south Kashmir), had he gone to buy milk?" she asked.

She added emphatically that poor Kashmiri youth were being used as shields by vested interests. " 95 per cent people killed are from poor families."

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader said only 5 per cent of Kashmiri people were resorting to violence and the rest "95 per cent percent people want peace...a dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue".

Appearing irritated, Mehbooba abruptly ended the press conference saying "Thank you" and invited journalists for a cup of tea.

The Home Minister ended his valley visit during which he met leaders of all mainstream parties and officials of civil, security and intelligence agencies.

However, trade bodies in Kashmir refused to meet him in protest against the civilian killings in Kashmir.
Source:-businessstandard
Viewmore:-Uttar Pradesh Mobile Number Database