Stalemate in Kashmir

The deadlock in Indian Kashmir continues. This situation is extremely unfortunate for the people of Kashmir.

The deadlock in Indian Kashmir continues, as positions become more entrenched. The leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) have declined to attend an all-parties meeting in Kashmir, to be conducted by a parliamentary delegation led by the Indian Home Minister. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of the APHC and Yasin Malik of the JKLF have said a joint memorandum will instead be sent to the parliamentary committee. He also suggested the parliamentary committees of India and Pakistan meet to discuss Kashmir.

The parliamentary delegation, led by P Chidambaram, is to meet political parties in Kashmir as part of a process which the Indian prime minister says would help evolve strategy regarding the Valley. There appears to be scant hope that this process will bring positive results. The line taken by an angry APHC makes this more true. An all-parties conference on Kashmir, held earlier this month, also got nowhere, with hard-line groups such as the opposition BJP refusing even to discuss the possibility of relaxing the laws which give draconian powers to security forces in Kashmir. Most Kashmiri parties seek a lifting of the laws which they believe have contributed to violence in the Valley with at least 100 people killed over the last three months.

It is clear no headway is being made. The latest stalemate proves this. The situation is extremely unfortunate for the people of Kashmir, who for six decades have fought for a right to determine their own destiny. They have made it clear they intend to fight on. For their sakes, for the sake of future generations of Kashmiris and for the future of relations between India and Pakistan it is vital a solution be found. There must be flexibility if a breakthrough is to be made and all players in the dispute persuaded to sit round a common conference table.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2010.