Delhi puts a question mark over Hurriyat trip

The statement came at the end of a two-hour informal meeting this evening of the Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs which reviewed the progress of the Kashmir peace initiative in the light of the recent shootout at the Red Fort, the threat to the Prime Minister and the aborted attack on J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.

Official circles see all three as evidence of Pakistan’s disinclination to crack the whip on militant groups so that the peace process can be carried forward. In fact, in recent days, there has been a perceptible hardening of stance by the Government with both Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani warning that the peace initiative would be “stalled” if these attacks continue.

The view that seems to have been reinforced by this evening’s discussions is that the signals from Pakistan are not positive enough for India to make concessions at the cost of irritating the hawks on this side. In fact, the hawks were active today with the BJP officially opposing a passport for Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani who is one of the five members of the team named for Pakistan.

Senior BJP leader J P Mathur said considering Geelani’s “background” and open utterances against India, it would not be “appropriate and timely” to allow him to be a part of the Hurriyat delegation.

The mounting obstacles on the road to peace are clearly emboldening the hardliners to step up the pressure on the Government. Today, Advani too lapsed into his old hawkish mode by saying that the Government would only be satisfied that peace had returned to the Valley when the number of violent incidents decreased and when the Kashmiri pundits returned to their homes. These are virtually impossible conditions in the near future if they are to be the yardstick for tangible progress on the peace initiative.

Significantly, the possibility of a high-level summit meeting between India and Pakistan was also virtually ruled out for the moment with New Delhi reiterating to Islamabad its desire to resume a “composite dialogue” at an early date. This was conveyed to General Musharraf by Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad, Vijay Nambiar, today.

The reference to a composite dialogue, in other words official-level talks,is seen as a regression from the bold steps hinted at by Vajpayee in his Kumarakom musings. The PM had said that India was ready for talks at the “highest level” provided the conditions were right. The Government today tagged on the same condition for the resumption of talks between officials.

Apart from the continuing militancy, what seems to have given the Government a jolt is the inclusion of Geelani in the Pakistan team. The Government has been opposed to the idea of letting the Jamaat leader go because of his open support to militant groups and his opposition to the ceasefire.

Official sources said the view in the Government was that Geelani’s presence in Islamabad would negate the entire purpose of sending a Hurriyat delegation across the border as it would give a filip to the militants instead of quietening them.

However, it seems that despite the Government’s best efforts, the Hurriyat Conference is not yet in a position to dump Geelani. The Centre will therefore have to wait to see how the battle of nerves between India, Pakistan and the Hurriyat plays out before making its next move.

Hurriyat still hopeful
JAMMU: Despite the Centre’s refusal to hold tripartite talks involving Pakistan and the Hurriyat, chairman Abdul Gani Bhat told The Indian Express: ‘‘I am still hopeful that passports will be issued.’’ When asked if any of them was denied a passport, he said that the executive would meet and decide. ‘‘Pakistan is a party to the dispute by history…We (Kashmiris) are the principal party. All have to talk,’’ he said.