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Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 17: The All opposition parties meeting in Srinagar today stressed for Indo-Pak dialogue on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and said that a delegation will go to New Delhi to persuade the Government for talks with all the stakeholders.
Former Chief Minister and the National Conference working president, Omar Abdullah, told reporters after the meeting that the opposition parties’ delegation will go to Delhi and persuade them for a dialogue with all stakeholders including Pakistan.
“As far as dialogue (with Pakistan) is concerned, we have been votaries of dialogue for resolution. Jammu and Kashmir was made an issue between India and Pakistan way back in 1970’s with the Simla Agreement. We believe Pakistan as our neighbour is a country that needs to be talked to …. and it is something Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done in the past. He has made unscheduled visit to Lahore and recently our Home Minister visited Islamabad”, said Omar.
The former Chief Minister said that both the countries should take steps to make dialogue possible. “The dialogue has continued and we hope the dialogue continues but for the dialogue to work, both sides have to be interested. Therefore I hope both the countries, India and Pakistan, should take requisite steps to improve the environment so that dialogue is possible,” he said.
Omar said the political parties have been supporters of dialogue with Pakistan. “Be it the Atal Behari Vajpayee dialogue with Pakistan, the Manmohan Singh dialogue or the Narendra Modi dialogue with Pakistan, we believe that dialogue is the only way forward”, he said.
Asked if India and Pakistan were heading towards a war in view of the statements coming from leaders on either side of the border, the former Chief Minister said he does not foresee a war between the two countries. “I cannot see war like situation. There is a lot of tension in relations between the two countries and it is resposibility of the two nations to reduce the tension. It is not as if there has been no war between India and Pakistan. We have fought more than three wars but nothing has been achieved,” he said.
Omar said that all opposition parties who met here in Srinagar to discuss the situation in Kashmir, today decided to meet President Pranab Mukherjee for appraising him about the unrest in the Valley.
The NC working president said that they will seek time to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and apprise him of the situation in Kashmir. “We have decided to seek time from the President to appraise him about the real ground situation in Kashmir. We will try to persuade the (Union) Government to take steps that will at least help in improving the situation in the Valley.”
Omar said all the opposition parties are worried about the killings and injuries in security forces firing while the State and the Central Governments mishandled the situation. “We are also worried that the political nature of Jammu and Kashmir has neither been accepted nor understood. When it has not been accepted, it is implied that no efforts have been made to find a solution to it,” he said.
The former Chief Minister said the opposition parties demand an inquiry by a retired Supreme Court Judge into the alleged excessive use of force by security forces. “Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in her speech on August 15 has herself said that some elements in security forces did not follow her instructions so this is an opportune time for a judicial inquiry headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge,” he said.
Omar said Kashmir is a political issue which needs to be addressed politically. “The first step is to admit and recognise the anger and then take steps to address it. So far that has not happened. The All Party Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister (on August 12) happened because the Parliament was in session and it was the opposition initiative that brought the issue twice for discussion. Otherwise, we would not have heard anything from the Government,” he said.
On raking up of Balochistan issue, the former Chief Minister said his personal view is that efforts should be focused on setting “our own house in order”. “You (Centre) want to rake up Balochistan, by all means do it but there is a fire burning in Kashmir. It also should be addressed,” he said.
Omar said blaming Pakistan for everything that goes wrong in Kashmir is not the right approach. “While Pakistan has a habit of fishing in troubled waters, I do not think the present situation is because of it. If we believe that Pakistan is behind all this, it means that we do not have to do anything to set things right,” he added.
On Magam firing incident yesterday that killed four persons, Omar said “we have to see why an area which did not give any trouble for 40 days has suddenly erupted. Wanton arrests have been effected, cases are being filed (against the youth). PSA is being slapped on them . It seems a reaction is being induced and it is the result of these actions that peaceful areas are now becoming part of the agitation,” he said.
On the use of pellet guns, the former Chief Minister said all parties have spoken against it. “The issue has figured in the Parliament as well but for some reason, it’s use is not stopped”.
Omar said the opposition parties will demand a special session of the State Assembly so that a threadbare discussion on the current situation can be held.
“If Parliament can pass resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, I see no reason why Assembly Session cannot be called and all of us cannot put forward resolutions with regard to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Former Chief Minister said the idea of Kashmir being an integral part of the country should not be limited to its land only. “The people of Kashmir have to be owned. The Prime Minister addressed the Gujarat agitation, which was way smaller in scale compared to Kashmir, in Gujarati. But there was no address on Kashmir,” he said.
Asked if the opposition parties will demand resignation of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her Government, Omar said it was not about the chair. “We have not demanded resignation because it would seem we want to be in the chair. It is not about the chair, it is about saving the future generation of Kashmir … it is about the eight-year-olds, the ten-year-olds and the 12-year-olds who are out on the streets,” he said.
Omar said the opposition will act responsibly and contribute towards improving the situation.
The former Chief Minister said the mainstream opposition parties were as relevant today as they were before the start of the current agitation. “If you are saying that we are irrelevant today, then Hurriyat Conference should be irrelevant during normalcy. But the fact is that neither are we irrelevant today, no are the Hurriyat during the times of normalcy,” he added.
The meeting was attended by several Congress leaders including JKPCC chief G A Mir, CPI(M) MLA from Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Independent MLAs Hakim Mohammad Yasin, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and former Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir.
During the meeting a resolution was passed and it was decided that the opposition parties will meet President of India to apprise him about the ground reality of Kashmir.
The resolution reads: “We express grave concern and grief over the prevailing situation in the State and express our heartfelt condolences with those who have lost their lives and also express our solidarity with thousands of those who have sustained serious injuries.”
“We express our deep disappointment and displeasure at the response of both the Central and the State Governments which stems from their insensitivity towards the suffering and sentiments of the people of the State.”
“A detailed discussion on the current situation is required and imperative. It is unfortunate that rather than the initiation of a discussion coming from the Government, it is the opposition parties that have initiated a discussion in both Houses of the Parliament on more than one occasion. We are grateful to those leaders and parties that have expressed their solidarity and sympathy with the people of the State in the prevailing situation and also voiced their concerns and suggestions.”
“It would have been in the fitness of things had the State Government called a Special Session of the State Legislature to discuss the prevailing situation in the State. Now that the State Government has failed in fulfilling this responsibility at this crucial juncture, we demand the Government calls a Special Session of the State Legislature without any further delay to discuss the current situation, its reasons and implications.”
The All Party Meeting also made some recommendations. “Given that the issue in Kashmir is largely of a political nature, we impress upon the Central Government to initiate a meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders”, the All Party Meet recommended.
“On more than one occasion, the Chief Minister of J&K has accepted that there has been an excessive use of forces against civilians, including on the instance of her speech on the 15th of August. We demand that a judicial probe by a Retired Judge of the Supreme Court is immediately ordered to probe the excessive use of force on civilians and fix responsibility for the same”, the meeting recommended.
“It has been seen that hitherto peaceful areas in the State are being dragged into the situation by nocturnal raids, arrests (including under PSA) and wanton harassment of the youth – which has further aggravated the extremely volatile situation. We demand such measures are stopped immediately.”
“The unchecked use of pellet guns has maimed, blinded and handicapped hundreds of young boys and girls. We demand the use of pellet guns be immediately discontinued without waiting for the so-called Committee of the Central Government to take cognizance of the humanitarian crisis in the Valley in this respect.”
“Jammu and Kashmir has always been a beacon of communal harmony and religious tolerance even in the most difficult circumstances. We appeal to the people of the State and all stakeholders to continue safeguarding and upholding this legacy at all costs.”
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