Visitor146;s trail

The ongoing visit to Pakistan by the moderate faction of Kashmir8217;s Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, could go down as a definitive turn in the Valley8217;s separatist politics. The significance of the Mirwaiz8217;s call for an end to armed struggle in Kashmir is highlighted by the strong opposition it elicited from extremists on both sides of the LoC in J038;K. On the Indian side, the hard-line Jamat-e-Islami leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has accused the Mirwaiz of yielding to pressures from Pakistan, India and the US. Across the LoC, the United Jihadi Council too has slammed his statements.

The Mirwaiz8217;s remarks should also persuade the hawks in New Delhi that a big moment in J038;K might be at hand. The hardliners here have traditionally argued that the Mirwaiz is a mere tool in Pakistan8217;s hands. If that is true, they will now have to concede that Pakistan8217;s President Pervez Musharraf is indeed encouraging the moderate sections of the Hurriyat to prepare the ground in Kashmir for a reasonable settlement between Islamabad and New Delhi. The Mirwaiz8217;s visit also underlined the fact that Musharraf has begun the orchestration of political support within Pakistan to the proposed deal with India. Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, the Punjab strongman and a close ally of Musharraf, has declared 8212; with the Mirwaiz standing next to him 8212; that the time has come for 8220;bold and unpopular decisions8221; on Kashmir. To be sure, nit-pickers in New Delhi will quibble with the Mirwaiz8217;s demand that Kashmiris be involved in the Indo-Pak negotiations and his plan to set up a 8216;joint working group8217; with the leaders across the LoC.

For Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has pushed the peace process with Pakistan against all odds, the latest developments are a shot in the arm. He must now press his negotiators to fill in the remaining details of the political template for Kashmir he has developed with Musharraf.