A five-member delegation led by former Foreign Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha called upon senior Hurriyat Conference leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday --to break the deadlock in the Valley with the secessionist camp that is spearheading an anti-India campaign for the past 107 days, paralysing normal life in the strife-torn Kashmir.
The members held detailed deliberations with the separatist leaders, of which only pictures were released and not the details, though they declined any Government sponsorship and referred to themselves as “people of goodwill”.
The meetings were apparently held after backchannel efforts to convince the Hurriyat leaders against shutting doors on efforts of reconciliation. The past bid on September 4 by a sub-group of an all-party delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh was not given audience by the separatist leaders that resulted into summary failure of the Central Government’s effort to reach out to the people in embattled Kashmir.
The Sinha-led delegation included former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, who has served most of his bureaucratic career in Kashmir, former Air Vice-Marshal and a Kashmiri by origin Kapil Kak, veteran journalist Bharat Bhushan and executive director of the New Delhi-based Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation Sushobha Barve.
After landing in Srinagar, the delegation straightway drove to Geelani’s Hyderpora residence, where the 87-year-old leader is under house-arrest. This time the doors were not closed and the delegation members were served with Kashmiri Kehwa during the 80-minute discourse.
“We talked in a very cordial atmosphere. Our aim was to talk (to separatists) and we have been successful in that,” Sinha told reporters after emerging from the Geelani’s residence. He did not specify as to what transpired between the two sides.
A spokesman of Geelani-led Hurriyat said that the conversation took place in a cordial atmosphere. Geelani Sahab reminded the delegation the historical perspective of the Kashmir issue, pending for its final resolution since 1947,”he said.
Sinha sought to distance the delegation from any official sponsorship. “We are a few people, who I must call, people of goodwill. We have come here on humanitarian grounds and to share the pain and sufferings of people. We will consider ourselves lucky if we can share the pain of people here and in this connection we have come here,” he said.
He said that the separatists have not invited them to hold talks but it was their own effort to reach out to them. He said the dialogue with separatists would be held at a “quite appropriate time”.
Interestingly, on Monday evening, the authorities shifted another Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from Cheshma Shahi sub-jail to his Nigeen mansion in Srinagar. Mirwaiz was detained last month and served the longest detention period outside his residence.
The Sinha-led delegation later called upon Mirwaiz and Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat at their respective residences.
In a statement Prof Bhat said that he highlighted the role of Indian intellectual class for the early resolution of the Kashmir dispute. “The need of the hour is to resolve the Kashmir issue by devising a mechanism for a fruitful and result-oriented dialogue process among the three stakeholders to the Kashmir dispute--India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir,” he told the delegation.
Bhat was the lone separatist leader who spoke to members of all-party delegation in September who attempted to discuss the ongoing strife with the separatist leaders. Geelani even shut the door for the delegation members led by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja, JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav and RJD’s Jay Prakash Narayan.
The delegation is scheduled to stay in Kashmir for three days to pursue the initiative that is being seen as a track-two effort to engage with the separatists and other stakeholders in Kashmir to end the ongoing strife that began on July 8 after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The killing triggered spontaneous protests across the Valley, quelled by use of force by the security forces.
During the past 109 days, over 90 people have been killed, more than 16,000 injured and over 12,000 arrested by the security forces.
The delegation is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday and various civil society and trade groups. They will wind-up the three-day visit on Thursday after meeting Governor NN Vohra.
Meanwhile, Geelani’s spokesman hinted that the Government of India must initiate measures to see results o the ground level. “Onus of peace in the region particularly in Jammu & Kashmir lies with those holding power, military might and other resources. Along with people, resistance activists and leaders have been put behind bars. Geelani himself is under house arrest for last 6 years. All the people and leaders should be released and the cases against them should be withdrawn so that after consultation a common and collective point of view can be put forward,” Hurriyat spokesman said.