Zardari statement spells crisis for separatists

After Zardari's statement on Indo-Pak relations, Kashmiri separatists seem to be in a mood of serious introspection.

Following the statement of Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of Pakistan People8217;s Party, separatists in Kashmir seem to be in a mood of serious introspection. He had said Pakistan was ready to move beyond Kashmir in its relations with India, which made the separatists8217; worst fears about Islamabad8217;s changing political priorities come true.

The statement has framed a new existential crisis for them as Pakistan has been the lifeline for the Valley8217;s secessionist politics. The separatists could always bank on Islamabad for their political relevance without bothering about their own grassroots base in the state. In fact, Hurriyat moderates led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq centered his entire politics around President Pervez Musharraf8217;s four-point proposals for the resolution of Kashmir. So much so that Hurriyat almost appeared as a handy instrument of Pakistan8217;s foreign policy, a representative of the Islamabad8217;s interests in the troubled state, rather than a secessionist grouping evolved from the Valley8217;s Azadi sentiment.

Hurriyat approach had a rationale too. A guaranteed Pakistan support not only obviated the need for relying too much on the fickle Kashmiri public support but also lent the grouping the much-needed political weight.

However, while Musharraf was generous in backing doves to the hilt, he also made them subservient to Islamabad8217;s fast-evolving views on the settlement of Kashmir. The hawk Geelani, who fell out with this approach, was soon cast aside and reduced to a footnote in Kashmir8217;s secessionist discourse.

Musharraf did not stop with Mirwaiz. He even defied the Pakistan8217;s policy orthodoxy on Kashmir by reaching out to the mainstream leaders like National Conference President Omar Abdullah. This was a clear gambit to rally the Kashmir8217;s largest mass-based party around Pakistan8217;s new flexible settlement options for the state. Everything was going all right if only the lawyers hadn8217;t queered the president8217;s pitch and the militants from Waziristan hadn8217;t unhinged the security balance in Islamabad .

Along the way, the situation in Kashmir too has metamorphosed, catching the Valley8217;s secessionists off guard. Waiting for a designer packaged Kashmir settlement to arrive unsuspectingly one fine morning on their sweet terms, secessionists suddenly find themselves drifted to the fringes of Kashmir8217;s political discourse. Militant violence which created space for their brand of politics is down to its lowest level in the past two decades. To top it all, Musharraf has almost obscured from the scene.

Now, Zardari8217;s statement may have come as the last straw. The statement is not only the first of its kind from a Pakistani leader in power but also the crudest from the Valley8217;s secessionist perspective. For whatever, the soon-to-be-formed Pakistan Government8217;s approach to Kashmir, Zardari has been unmistakable about the evolving new thinking on Kashmir in Islamabad pioneered by Musharraf. Separatists now face the prospect of sustaining a struggle being increasingly shorn of its underpinnings.