Could the frequent flier points notched up by Hurriyat leaders actually be proportional to the chances of reviving the ``delayed, not derailed'' dialogue between Kashmiri separatist leaders and the Centre initiated earlier this year? At first glance, the equation may seem somewhat unbalanced, but since the season of hope is persisting well beyond the first snowfall in the Valley, it is a tempting line of speculation to pursue. Looked at from a particular angle, the patterns in the kahwa leaves do seem to spell hope. Hope reflected in two conciliatory gestures made by the Indian government. First, two Hurriyat leaders, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and Abbas Ansari, were accorded permission to attend the Organisation of Islamic Conference summit in Doha earlier this week. Second, the government made official a long overdue sanction to Abdul Ghani Lone to journey to Rawalpindi to attend his son's marriage to JKLF chairman Amanullah Khan's daughter on November 19. But is this mere observance of the constitutional right tofreedom of movement or is it part of a wider strategy to rescue the peace process in Jammu and Kashmir?As with all else in the strife-torn state, according certainty to what is at best speculation can be immensely hazardous. Yet, pronouncements by Hurriyat leaders are heartening, the foremost being their stated perceptions of ahealthy shift in New Delhi's policy. Adding import to this is their renewed emphasis on the ``Kashmir for Kashmiris'' basis of their movement and the attendant effort to distance themselves from Islamabad. New Delhi cannot but extract optimism from the echoes this week of this Kashmiri-foreigner fissure in the separatist movement. While the OIC once again demonstrated its predilection for issuing condemnatory statements against India, the two Hurriyat leaders present at the summit provided a rare note of caution. Farooq reportedly refused to be drawn into criticism of India, and instead reiterated his case that the solution of the Kashmir imbroglio lay in negotiations. And Lone, whose son's forthcoming nuptials have brightened the prospects of reunifying the ``Kashmiri'' separatist organisations, too has been making vocal efforts to wipe out any pro-Pakistan stains on the Hurriyat.Whether all this is enough reason to expect a complete resuscitation of the peace talks by the end of the year is still not clear. For all their conciliatory gestures, Hurriyat leaders attending the Lone-Khan wedding in Pakistan - besides Lone, Farooq and Ansari too will be present - are likely to make some contact, no matter how informal, with the Pakistani government. At the very least, one will have to await their return to determine with even a modicum of certainty what control Islamabad exercises over the Hurriyat leadership. Moreover, given the oneupmanship that ensued when New Delhi agreed to negotiations with the Hizbul Mujahideen this summer, the Hurriyat needs to provide proof of its sincerity by matching its enticing calls for negotiations with a deed or two.
