Sardar Qayyum with AB Vajpayee
and LK Advani in New Delhi
Is
There a Change of Heart in Kashmiri Politics
Dr
Shabir Choudhry
LONDON,
September 27: Kashmiri politics has seen many changes since 1947.
Some of these changes only added to the misery of the people,
and resulted in the stalemate; but changes of recent past and
its pace have surprised many Kashmir watchers.
Who
could have imagined that one day Sardar Qayyum Khan who was at
one time regarded as ‘undesirable person’, because
of his anti India past and pro Pakistan politics, would be allowed
to visit India. He was not only allowed to visit India but was
accorded ‘hero’s welcome’; and generously projected
in print and electronic media.
Similarly no one could have envisaged any Pakistani ruler having
a soft corner for rulers of Jammu and Kashmir, never mind acknowledging
some kind of representative character for them, as they have always
encouraged opposition and disruption of elections on that side
of the divide. All Kashmiri leaders, if they disobeyed ‘orders’
of Pakistani governments, were projected negatively as ‘puppets
of India’ and ‘traitors’; and even great Sheikh
Abdullah had to swallow this bitter pill and was only projected
as ‘Sher-e-Kashmir’ after his fallout with India.
Sardar
Qayyum Khan is among those who have practically fought for the
liberation of Jammu and Kashmir and wanted to ‘liberate’
the remaining Kashmir by use of gun. Some even say that he wanted
to hoist a flag on the Red Fort, and he must have been disappointed
as he could only see the Red Fort with an Indian flag flying on
it.
That
aside, his interaction with the Kashmiri leaders on the Indian
side of the divide must have influenced him as reports suggest
that he is not in hurry to see solution of the Kashmir dispute;
and have very firmly supported the peace process and a peaceful
resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He is also reported to have
taken the same strategy which IKA leadership has been projecting
for some years- and that is a process of dialogue among all the
concerned parties, and opening of routes that people can interact,
socialize and trade with each other.
For
projecting this policy we experienced full brunt of the Pakistani
establishment; and now that Sardar Qayyum Khan has also adopted
the same policy, suggests that there has been a change of heart
in Islamabad, as Sardar Sahib would not have traveled without
a green signal from some powerful quarters there. And moreover
he would not have given the statements, which he has given during
his visit to New Delhi.
According
to one news item Sardar has said that militants were ‘maligning’
Islam in the name of ‘jihad’; and that ‘the
weapons of mass destruction might fall into their hands and completely
derail the ongoing peace process’. Very bravely and forcefully
he said the following, according to the UNI report of 23 September
2005: "There
is no jihad in Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorists are tools in the
hands of vested interests. Jihad is waged to protect destitutes
and the downtrodden and not to kill women and children. The purpose
of jihad in Jammu and Kashmir has been defeated," Mr Khan
told media persons at a reception hosted by the Kashmiri community
here last night.
He
said violence will not resolve the complex Kashmir issue and the
terrorists were a threat to peace in South Asia. "Guns have
no place in Jammu and Kashmir. And the blood of innocent people
must not be spilled," he added. The PoK leader said the worst
impact of the violence in the State was the mass exodus of Kashmiri
Pandits which severely damaged the secular fabric of the Kashmiri
society. "The gun spared nobody. It has killed people from
all communities," Mr Khan, who was here to attend an Intra
Kashmir conference, said.
This
reception was attended by cross section of the Kashmiri leaders
which included Yousuf Trigami, Professor Ghani Bhat, Sajjad Lone,
Bhim Singh, Ashoke Bhan, Riaz Punjabi, Mian Altaf, Abdul Rashid
Shaheen etc. It is ironic that if IKA leaders meet some of these
leaders or share platform with them then they are criticized for
this, but it is just appropriate for Sardar Qayyum Khan to do
so because he has the blessing of some powerful quarters in Islamabad.
Despite
all this, it is a welcome development, and we will not oppose
it just because we were criticized for doing this. We welcome
this, and request all relevant people to face the ground reality
– Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved by force, and peace
and stability of the region demands change of heart and change
of strategy.
As
a guest of honor in IKA organized International conference on
Kashmir National reconciliation, Liz Lynn Member of European Parliament,
while supporting the Kashmiri peoples right of self determination,
criticized disunity among the Kashmiri leadership. She said Kashmiri
leaders are reluctant to even shake hand with their fellow leaders
just because they hold different opinion, but at the same time
demand inclusion of the Kashmiris in the dialogue process.
Her
point was that these Kashmiri leaders are divisive and have no
strategy for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. In other words
they seek help and beg everyone to ‘arrange’ a meeting
with leaders of India and Pakistan, who have deprived the Kashmiris
of independence, and caused suffering and misery to thousands
of innocent Kashmiris, but they are not prepared to meet or even
to share a platform with fellow Kashmiri leaders.
How
true is this? We have ‘leaders’ and ‘champions’
of human rights who would not sit and talk with their fellow Kashmiri
leaders to formulate a strategy for resolution of the Kashmir
dispute, or even to agree on a minimum common strategy, but they
are more than willing to flatter and become a tool in the hands
of either Indian or Pakistani agencies.
If
IKA, which has established its credentials as a pro peace and
pro people Alliance, arranges a conference alarm bells ring in
many capitals of the world including Islamabad, to unleash a propaganda
campaign against such conference, and people are threatened with
consequences if they don’t boycott it. But if Bhim Singh
arranges a conference, they not only remain silent but actively
encourage people to take part in it; yet not long ago it was considered
as a ‘crime’ to meet him, and some people in some
parties had to give explanations for meeting Bhim Singh.
I have quoted the above only to refresh the memories of some concerned
people, because when we adopted liberal and positive attitude
we were criticized from left, right and center. Meeting with non
Muslim Kashmiris and to speak for their rights was considered
as a ‘crime’, even within the ranks of the JKLF, and
I had to suffer because of my ‘disobedience’ and rebellious
attitude.
I hope that this trend of tolerance and reconciliation, which
IKA can proudly claim to have pioneered, would continue and that
more and more conferences will take place where people from all
regions of Jammu and Kashmir could sit down and open their hearts
to each other. I also hope that there will be a change of heart
in Islamabad and New Delhi, and that they would facilitate such
moots rather than imposing rule 144 as it was the case with the
JKLF International Conference in Mirpur which was banned by the
authorities.
The
writer is Chairman of Diplomatic Committee of JKLF and author
of many books. He is a Director of the Institute of Kashmir Affairs.
Email: drshabirchoudhry@hotmail.com
