Kashmiris hail talks with a caveat

MUZAFFRABAD: As the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India held formal talks in Islamabad, political leaders in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) hoped the interaction would lead to normalisation of ties between the two hostile neighbours. At the same time, however, they warned that Indo-Pak talks would be a futile exercise if the festering dispute over the Himalayan region was off the table.

“It is a good beginning. We welcome Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. Dialogue is the only way to settle all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir,’ AJK President Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan said while talking to The Express Tribune.

The Kahsmiris have never been and will never be opposed to talks between Pakistan and India but the two countries must also listen to the Kashmiris who are the main party to the longstanding dispute over Kashmir, he added.

“The Kashmiris want their rights under the UN Security Council resolutions. In order to make the environment conducive for talks, New Delhi must repeal black laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and release all political prisoners languishing in different jails of the disputed state,” Yaqoob said, adding that laws like AFSPA gave Indian troops a licence to kill.

The leader of the Azad Kashmir chapter of PML-N, Shah Ghulam Qadir, said it was the best opportunity for both Pakistan and India to settle the Kashmir dispute peacefully as both countries have stable governments.

“Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi will be immortalised in the annals of South Asia’s history if they resolve this dispute which is the only impediment to durable peace in the region,” he added and warned that “New Delhi and Islamabad can get nothing from talks unless the grievances of the Kashmiri people are addressed.”

AJK Rehabilitation Minister Abdul Majid Khan said the foreign secretary-level interaction would pave way for constructive engagements between Pakistan and India. However, he added that peace and security in South Asia hinged on the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. “The two countries should show flexibility to resolve this dispute on a humanitarian basis,” he added.

AJK Law Minister Azhar Geelani said the Kashmiris were the main victims of the conflict in South Asia and without giving them relief nobody could guarantee success of talks between Pakistan and India. Ameer of the AJK chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami Abdur Rashid Turabi said that for successful talks India should first accept Kashmir as a dispute.

Muttahida Quami Movement’s Tahir Khokhar said if India sincerely wanted to pursue talks, then it should first honour the sanctity of the Line of Control and Working Boundary where its forces continue to target civilian population. “A successful beginning demands on-ground change in Indian-administered Kashmir where people are subjected to state terrorism. For result-oriented talks, the wounds of the Kashmiris must be healed first,” he added.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2015.