73- A Free Kashmir: Random Thoughts-73
 

Open and Secret Talks & fate of Kashmir

Was there a Kashmir Resolution?

I

Secret talks are common in international affairs and those countries pursuing illegal goals or immoral deals encourage and promote secret talks. India always courts secret a talks and hidden agenda at home and aboard. With respect to Kashmir sovereignty issue it keeps its talks with Pakistan a top level secret and, for that reason, does not include freedom leaders in the talks. Open and secret Talks have been the global trends, but when they did not help pursue freedom struggle or affected the movement, they amount to total failure and Kashmir is a case in point.  The resolution of the Kashmir issue was the cornerstone of a broad agreement that would have represented a "paradigm shift" in relations between India and Pakistan: a moving away from decades of hostility to acceptance and peaceful trade.

There has been a lot secrecy about Indo-Pakistan talks on Kashmir and Kashmiris who die without knowing the truth about these talks, have reason to spun these secret talks and ask the leaders to make the talks open so that the Kashmiris are not kept in darkness. Apart from wars, both the countries had several rounds of futile talks but India racks up terror activities to demolish any positive signs appearing from the talks. Interestingly, India , Pakistan , pro-India Kashmiri leaders and even freedom leaders are engaged in secret talks, prolonging the freedom cause inordinately..

India and Pakistan engaged in nearly three years of secret high-level talks that narrowly missed achieving a historic breakthrough over Kashmir, according to a media report. The secret negotiations consisted of about two dozen meetings in hotel rooms in various overseas locations. The sessions revolved around developing a document known as a "non-paper", diplomatic jargon for a negotiated text that bears no names or signatures and can "serve as a deniable but detailed basis for a deal. The US and British governments were aware of the talks and offered low-key support and advice but otherwise elected to let India and Pakistan settle their disputes unaided. Relations - and hopes for resuming the peace initiative - began a downward slide after Musharraf left office. In Kashmir, anti-India fighters began an aggressive campaign of public demonstrations and terrorist attacks that seemed designed to send a message: "Musharraf is gone, but the Kashmir war is alive." Without solutions made but Mumbai Nov26 aggravated the explosive relations all over again.

The effort which began in 2004 stalled in 2007, and the prospects for a settlement were further undermined by deadly terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November. Under the plan, the Kashmir conflict would have been resolved through the creation of an autonomous region in which local residents could move freely and conduct trade on both sides of the territorial boundary. The attempt ultimately failed, not because of substantive differences, but because declining political fortunes left then Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf without the clout he needed to sell the agreement at home.

II

Both India and pro-India Kashmiris are known for their double speaks. Without taking the Kashmiris into confidence, the pro-India outfits demanded self rule etc only when they got the signal from India to woo the voters to vote in the poll and justify Indian genocides in Kashmir. India is annoyed with people coming out on streets opposing the illegal Amarnath Shrine board controversy, but the freedom leaders are overwhelmed as they got a new lease of life in the popular uprising.  However the new regime in JK put in lace by the Indian state does not let the freedom struggle to proceed as it should be. According the sources in the Indian home ministry, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Sajjad Lone are convinced that street show of overwhelming support of the people is the best bet for the cause of Kashmiri rights.

Pro-Indian elements take undue advantage of freedom movement and they say and do what the Indian bosses want them to, and nothing more. Both the NC and PDP vied with each other to make recommendations for a free Kashmir, evidently, on the reported secret talks between India and Pakistan over Kashmir sovereignty. Pakistan claims it had almost reached an understating with India on Kashmir. PDP leaders even published a draft for self rule. PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed proposed that within J&K, "Political restructuring, economic integration between the two parts of Kashmir , demilitarization and restructuring within the Indian Constitution" should take place. At that time, Mufti had said that this is the best possible solution without disturbing the borders or sovereignty of Pakistan and India.

A report suggests that former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri mentioned that India and Pakistan were close to an agreement on the Jammu and Kashmir�s dispute. He said the entire talks were based on variations of the Irish accord reached between Britain and Ireland. Kasuri said that the details of the talks must have been leaked to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Sayeed because soon after they came out with the document on the "self-rule framework for Kashmir solution" in October 2008.  But the talks never reached the final stage. "The proposal was going back and forth. India agreed on certain things. The idea of joint mechanism to govern the entire Kashmir was one of them," he said. However, he doesn't deny that talks were advancing well had achieved some progress. 

India is pursuing the pro-India outfits in Kashmir to purse the Indian goals in Kashmir and make the freedom leaders also pro-Indians for their own befits , including cash and other foreign favors. Talking about current security situation, the intelligence officer said that India is concerned about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the coming months. India keeps the Pakistan boggy to kill the Kashmiris.

By maintaining a criminal silence on sovereignty issue, India provokes Kashmir freedom leaders and incites violence in the valley now a military cantonment. According to the assessment of Indian intelligence agencies Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's government will face an increasingly tough time in handling the law and order situation and even an increase in terrorism within the state is not ruled out.

  III

India and pro-India in JK effectively the poll campaigns to sideline freedom movement as the freedom groups did not participate in the elections calling it a foreign poll in Kashmir. Kashmir recorded a very low voting. . Also, the separatists feel that if Omar stabilizes in power then the "solution to Kashmir� problem will not be a pressing agenda. Indian provokes the freedom leaders to resort to violence so that India could rewind the �terrorism� plank to get the support of Obama. India expects the use of violence by �militants� could be renewed by April, so that India could resume the holocaust in Kashmir. New Delhi strategist view that the Indian Hindu terror forces are sleeping idle and are being paid for  not killing Muslims.

India hopes the pro-India Kashmiris in Kashmir would be true to Indan salt and would uphold the dignity of Hindus. Indian army's efforts and experiences, and the fence along the border is helping but there are high stakes involved for the �militants� who would like to announce that "we are still around and game is far from over".

Freedom leaders have to deal with internal enemy, the pro-India elements who now manage Kashmir affairs on behalf of Indian Hindus, as like Afghan president is doing for the occupying US-led terror forces. It is dangerous and could even be disastrous; there are quite a lot of pro-India supporters seeking nothing but money and foreign trips from India, while India keeps killing the defenseless Kashmiris Muslims selectively and secretively.  

Any resolution on Jammu Kashmir should respect the sentiments of Kashmiris who fight for freedom and lose lives for the cause. Jammu Kashmir has to be resurrected as it existed before 1947. What kind of state Kashmiris would like to make should be left to them. India has no reasons to control and kill the Kashmiris as their prerogative.  

A Word

India has to break its criminal silence on Kashmir sovereignty issue, earlier the better. It has no other options. It has already tried all possible options, including state terrorism in Kashmir.

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Yours Sincerely,

DR. ABDUL RUFF Colachal

Columnist & Independent Researcher in World Affairs,

The only Indian to have gone through entire India

South Asia.