Kashmir Talks

The News, October 4, 2005
Heart-to-heart Kashmir talks
M. Ismail Khan

"Pakistan, India and people of Jammu & Kashmir must reconcile with the fact that the Princely State established and ruled by my father and grandfathers have ceased to exist since 1947" declared Dr. Karen Singh son of Hari Singh former Maharaja of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, who was speaking to visiting Kashmiri leaders at a luncheon meeting in Delhi last week. Within hours Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan went on air at the NDTV saying "We will accept revival of former princely State with Maharaja Dr. Karen Singh as a head of state". That was indeed a bold stroke coming from the former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, knowing well that Dr. Karen Singh, currently member parliament (upper house) has failed to win the last election for a Lok Saba (lower house) seat from his ancestral constituency in Jammu.

Following the groundbreaking intra-Kashmir dialogue held in Srinagar in July this year, another two rounds of intra-Kashmir "heart to heart talks" were organised in Jammu (Sept 17-18) and Delhi (Sept. 20-21). Organised under the auspicious of Bhim Singh's Panther Party and Indian Council of World Affairs and attended by key political leaders and intellectuals from Azad Kashmir, Indian held Jammu & Kashmir, and also from Gilgit/Baltistan. This process of dialogue among people of the former princely state of Jammu & Kashmir is being billed as a major step forward in the series of "confidence building measures" taken by the two countries in recent times. To some extent, it has met Pakistan's long standing demand for "involvement" of the people of the former state in order to find a lasting and peaceful settlement of the 57 year old dispute.

The Intra-Kashmir dialogue process is considered more significant then the meeting of Hurriyat leaders with the Prime Minister of India or their guided tour to Pakistan earlier this year. Because, the dialogue for the first time brought together J & K leaders representing different shades of opinion, never before have people like Farooq Abdullah, Sardar Qayum, Arif Shahid and Abdul Ghani Bhat sat around a table and discussed possibilities on Kashmir. From the proceedings of these conferences, it seems, Hurriyat does represent a specific segment of Kashmir valley but it would be foolish to assume that they represent sentiments of the people of all five regions of the former state. A fact, strongly echoed in the speeches and statements of visiting and host J& K leaders at Jammu University and also at the session held at exactly in the same room of the palace of the Maharaja -- where the controversial letter of accession was signed in 1947.

The Delhi moot was indeed a watershed development. Many participants advocated for a pragmatic and workable arrangement whereby as an initial step Kashmiris on both sides should be allowed free movement across the LoC, eventually making the borders "irrelevant". Arif Shahid, chairmen All Parties National Alliance emphasised on the need to take into stride the ground realities concerning ethnic and geographic identities of various regions and warned that any attempt to thrust solution by a specific group over others will create divisions and further discontentment. However, he was uncompromising over division of the former State. Farooq Abdullah was at his lethal best in begging for a solution suited to the Kashmiris, as well as the Indian Muslim population. The young Sajjad Lone, urged all parties to get out of the "psychological captivity" and cease the moment to resolve the conflict once and for all. I myself, being the only participant from the Northern Areas, shared the general sentiment of people of Gilgit Baltistan, and urged that since the region has been part of the problem all these years it should be part of the solution as well, and that the people of the Northern Areas should not be made a scapegoat of the dispute. Nonetheless, it was Sardar Abdul Qayum and his interaction with the Kashmiris and Indian leaders which stole the media attention. The presence of Mujahid-e-Awwal in Delhi was enough to create waves in Delhi's media scene. His moves and statements were closely followed during the conference and later. Sardar Qayyum himself managed to keep a positive and conciliatory tone through out the visit.

Notwithstanding these positive vibes, the dispute of Kashmir remains shrouded in thick clouds of dispute. A substantial gap continues to exist between high expectations of Pakistan and Kashmiris for restoration of the pre 47 State and India's bottom line of no-redrawing of boundaries on religious ground. To bridge this gap, it seems India needs to do more in order to heal the wounds of the people, who have been wronged for no obvious justification. If Dr. Manmohan Singh can go on extending a public apology to the Sikhs for the riots, he should not hesitate to raise his hand and ask for forgiveness from Kashmiris for the political and humanitarian disaster created by its past leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru. Pakistan should follow suit.

On the other hand, many analysts in Delhi point out that if pre-partition Punjab can live at peace after under going a division into four independent provinces -- one in Pakistan and three in India -- why can't the five parts of Jammu & Kashmir historically subjugated by its rulers by force cannot be carved out into three or five provinces with sufficient autonomy. They also argues that if millions of Kashmiris find no problem living in mainly Christian Europe and North America, why should their nationalism and Islamic genesis be considered threaten by living with 150 million other fellow Muslims in the secular India.

There is also a growing awareness in Delhi about the geo-strategic value of Gilgit/Baltistan or what we call the Northern Areas. What next, if the Kashmir issue is resolved after all? Many Indian strategists have started to ponder over the inevitability. Many of them believe that the up and coming issues for South Asia is not Kashmir, it will be energy, water and trade corridors. Looking at the emerging strategic consideration, they have began to realise that it is Northern Areas not the Kashmir valley which houses the most mature trade route to the world's largest emerging economy China. It is the Northern Areas through which South Asia's energy starved economic engine can be hooked up to the vast energy resource base of Central Asia via Tajikistan. It is the Northern Areas which hold South Asia's largest reservoirs of fresh water resources in the shape of glaciers, not to mention its tremendous hydro electricity, mineral and tourism potentials. Just imagine what India and Pakistan will be competing for say around thirty years down the line. At the end of the day, India may well afford to give up the "beautiful" Kashmir for Kashmiris but one is not sure if Pakistan can afford to lose the "substantive" Northern Areas. No wonder, if the Delhi declaration among many other things "especially welcomes the participation from Gilgit/Baltistan and looks forward to their participation in subsequent heart to heart talks"!

The writer is a development consultant and analyst from the Northern Areas
Email: ismail.k2@gmail.com