Before shaking hands with the BJP over the issue of Government formation in Jammu & Kashmir, former Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohd Sayeed on Saturday listed out certain ‘tough’ conditions including time-bound repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), handing over of NHPC-run power projects to the State as per the recommendations of Rangrajan Committee and continuation of Confidence Building Measures (CBM’s) initiated earlier by his Government under the ‘healing touch’ policy.
Pushing the ball in to the BJP’s court ahead of starting structured dialogue, Mufti in a veiled reference also reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be more ‘inclusive’ as J&K is the only Muslim majority State in the country.
“We are ready to shake hands and rub shoulders but you too have to be more ‘inclusive’.
If you are an experienced leader, I too remained Home Minister of India. Since 1947 there has been unrest in this Muslim majority State. Why it is soIJ We want to project the right picture of India and highlight its diversity not India of ‘ghar wapsi’. There is democracy and it will never die. Secularism will never die. You have to be ‘inclusive’ and take all of us along. We will work alot for the welfare of the people of the State,” Mufti said in his 30-minute-long speech after his daughter Mehbooba Mufti was elected as party president ‘unopposed’ here at party headquarters.
On the occasion Mufti Mohd Sayeed for the first time also publicly admitted that track II negotiations were on with the BJP.
“We are in track II negotiations with the BJP,” he said, adding after some consensus evolves during the ‘informal talks’, the party will depute its senior party leaders for holding structured dialogue with BJP. “We will have to agree on basic issues and move forward for transforming Jammu & Kashmir into a politically stable and economically developed State for which peace is the prerequisite,” he said, adding that Common Minimum Programme will form the basics of governance in the State for which negotiations were on with BJP.
Reiterating his stand that peace was the pre-requisite for economic viability in Jammu & Kashmir, Mufti said that Government of India will have to address Kashmir issue by holding meaningful dialogue. “We have time and again reiterated that neighbors can not be changed and it was the time when we must engage Pakistan in negotiations so to ensure peace in the sub-continent.
“We do not want to dictate terms as it is under the ambit of Prime Minister’s power to decide on the foreign policy matters. However, it is also clear that any hostility between India and Pakistan has a direct impact on Jammu & Kashmir and its people. We want that peace should prevail on the borders and within the State. We want to bridge the gap between the two neighbouring countries for ensuring peace in the region,” he said.
He said that Narendera Modi had made the right beginning by inviting PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif for his inauguration but unfortunately this positive initiative was stalled soon after by calling off the talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries.
Mufti said that country’s leadership has to respond and respect the faith reposed by the people of Jammu and Kashmir in democratic process. The best way to do that, he said, is to remove the impression that Jammu & Kashmir is being governed by military law. This, he said, is a source of embarrassment for our country even at the national level and the continuous use of special powers for security forces compromises the dignity and personal liberty of the common people who must have the same benefit and rights as enjoyed by any citizen in the country.
Calling for revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in time bound manner, Mufti said that the requirement of such special powers to the forces no more exist in view of the drastic decline in militancy. When such laws give adverse impression why should we have them”, he said, adding that PDP was clear on the issue that it does not want just an assurance for the sake of assurance on this subject but a proper plan to see that the law is repealed at the earliest.
I assure you and the people of Jammu & Kashmir that I will never sell my mandate and will not compromise on the basic, issues on which the people have reposed trust on PDP, just for the sake of power”.
In another related development Dr. Haseeb Drabu, PDP MlA from Rajpora Constituency, called on the Governor NN Vohra to brief him about the recent deliberations between the two parties PDP and BJP over Government formation in the State.
According to spokesman of the Raj Bhavan, “during his 45-minutes meeting with the Governor on late Friday evening Drabu informed the former about the broad pattern of the PDP-BJP parleys so far held, the understandings arrived at in regard to the forthcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha, and the likely time frame presently envisaged for further negotiations and conclusion of understandings”.