All-party meet called by Mufti seeks political solution for Kashmir issue

SRINAGAR: An all-party meeting which was held here on Thursday to deliberate on current unrest in the Valley called for engaging all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir in an effort to “carry forward the peace and reconciliation process” in the restive State.

It also asked for converting what it said was political consensus arrived at the meet into a national initiative for addressing the problems confronting Jammu and Kashmir and its people.

The meeting recognised the fact that the incidents and events unfolding in the Valley were not merely a law and order problem but essentially a political issue.

The meeting expressed deep grief and concern over the loss of life and injuries caused during the turbulence set off by the killing of a popular militant commander and took note of the empathy and sense of solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir reflected during the debate on the prevailing situation in the State in both houses of Parliament.

“The meeting calls for converting this political consensus into a national initiative for addressing the problems confronting Jammu and Kashmir and its people,” a resolution adopted at the end of the meet said. “This meeting calls for inclusive engagement of all the stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir for carrying forward the peace and reconciliation process in the State,” it added.

Some participants including CPI (M)’s Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami and those representing the Valley-based parties were cohesive in their outlook that the nature of the unrest ought to be recognised and dealt with essentially politically instead of using military might to suppress it.

“This is not exclusively a law and order issue. It is not one incident, one eruption or one uprising. What is unfolding in Kashmir today is not happening for the first time. It has been happening repetitively but, no doubt, it has taken a different and more serious turn this time,” Mr. Tarigami said. He urged that the problem should not be taken or examined in isolation.

He and some other participants said that the police and other security forces have used force- and that disproportionately in many cases- essentially from the perspective that this was a law and order problem and terrorism hence should be met with use of tough measures.

“That is not the case. That is not the way out”, said the CPIM fourth time lawmaker Mr. Tarigami who incidentally represents an Assembly segment in south Kulgam district which witnessed some of the worst incident of violence during past 13 days.

He said, “Our own house is in disorder for a pretty long time and it must be set right”. He asserted the pain of the people of Kashmir has been ignored for decades and that “We must urge upon Parliament, the political parties of the country, primarily the Government of India, to understand this pain , recognize this pain and express willingness to reach out to the people of Kashmir and open up credible channels of communication with them”.

He and some other participants cautioned the government that it may be able to control the situation this time or people may get exhausted on their own as they may not withstand uninterrupted curfews and other tough measures for longer period of time but that would be only for the moment.

“It may reoccur as past experience teaches us but we are ignoring our own familiarities. We refuse to learn lessons. If the message people have sought to deliver is again ignored, I’m afraid we will be caught in a similar situation, may be even worse than this, after some time,” Mr. Tarigami cautioned.

During the meeting which had been convened by Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, to exclusively discuss the law and other situation in Kashmir arising out of the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the new-age poster boy of militancy, a peculiar situation emerged when BJP representatives complained that only the issues confronting the Valley were being discussed and those of Jammu region have been ignored.

They also asked for making a separate mention of the casualties suffered by the security forces in the draft of resolution adopted at the end of the meeting which said it expressed “deep grief and concern over the loss of life and injuries caused during the law and order situation prevailing in Kashmir since July 8, 2016”. But their plea was rejected.

Chief Minister, Ms. Mufti while speaking on the occasion also called for taking all the stakeholders on board as part of a politically-inclusive agenda to address the problems confronting Jammu and Kashmir.

She also called for reviving the dialogue process with Pakistan to ensure peace and stability in the region. She said, “The country’s political leadership shall have to take on board all the stakeholders and pursue an agenda which is politically-inclusive and developmentally-intensive to address the challenges confronting Jammu and Kashmir internally and externally.”

She said the PDP-BJP government in the State would act as a facilitator for resolving the problems and challenges confronting Jammu and Kashmir if tangible steps are taken to reach out to all the stakeholders.

“A new course for Jammu and Kashmir can be chalked out only by reaching out to all the stakeholders including the youth who have to pay a huge price because of the uncertainties plaguing the State for the past more than six decades,” she said. She added that alternatives shall also have to be found to existing crowd control methods to ensure that the youth don’t get killed or maimed in such situations.

The participants with a couple of “quiet” exceptions in one voice called for an end to the use of controversial pellet guns by the security forces as these have maimed and blinded scores of youth during past 13 days.

Endorsing them, the Chief Minister said, “I’m especially pained by the grievous eye injuries caused to some youth because of the pellets guns... this cruel method of crowd control will have to be done away with, sooner the better”.

She appreciated the commitment of the doctors, the paramedical staff and the nurses in reaching out to the needy amid prevailing crisis situation. “I salute the dedication of our doctors, paramedical staff and the nurses for working with great commitment amid trying circumstances and saving as many lives,” she said and reiterated that the government would provide every possible help to the injured so that they can to live their life as productive citizens.

She speaking on the fatal casualties and on the plight of the families which have been ruined due to these, she broke down and in choked voice said, “The can’t live with the pain and suffering forever. Their shrieks and painful voices shall have to be heard and substantive confidence building measures taken to address the alienation and reduce trust deficit.”

She said a beginning in this regard can be made by implementing the recommendations of the five Working Groups constituted by the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in 2006 and reiterated in the PDP-BJP ‘Agenda of Alliance’.

She asserted that the recommendations of these Working Groups comprehensively deal with almost all the aspects of the problems confronting Jammu and Kashmir including Centre-State relations, strengthening relations across LoC, Confidence Building Measures across segments of society in J&K, Economic Development of Jammu and Kashmir and ensuring Good Governance.

Main opposition National Conference boycotted the meeting on the premise that the government is grappling in the dark and that “until such time a credible, effective and humane leadership is re-established in the State this all party meeting will prove to be a meaningless exercise.”

Apart from Ms. Mufti who is also the present of PDP and Mr. Tarigami, J&K PCC chief G. A. Mir, BJP State president Sat Sharma, National Panthers’ Party president, Harshdev Singh, Peoples Democratic Front leader, Hakim Mohammad Yasin, Democratic Nationalist Party leader, Ghulam Hassan Mir, Lok Jan Shakti Party leader, Sanjay Saraf, Awami Ittehad Party leader, Er. Sheikh Abdur Rashid, CPI leader A R Tukroo, Peoples Democratic Front leader, Hakim Muhammad Yasin and some others also spoke on the occasion. Deputy Chief Minister, Nirmal Singh, and ministers Choudhary Lal Singh, Naeem Akhtar, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali, Sajad Gani Lone, Imran Raza Ansari, Chandar Parkash Ganga, Abdul Ghani Kohli and some other key functionaries of the government were also present. The meeting observed two minutes silence to pay homage to those who lost their lives during the past 13 days.