Kashmir Affairs - Security & Conflict Analysis of Kashmir

Omar Abdullah
President, National Conference

Murtaza Shibli

Omar Abdullah was youngest Indian Minister when he assumed office as Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry at the age of 29 in National Democratic Alliance government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1999. He was later made the External Affairs Minister for State. Currently he is the President of the largest pro-India political party in Kashmir, National Conference (NC), which advocates autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian system as a solution to the Kashmir problem. He is presently busy campaigning for the October 2008 elections for Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

The recent statement that your party is willing to explore beyond autonomy sounds like a tacit way to accept surrender?
Not at all; NC has always maintained that Autonomy is the best possible solution for both sides of Kashmir. It satisfies the need for a political solution, keeps the identity of the state of Jammu and Kashmir intact and does not require lines to be redrawn, something both India and Pakistan have acknowledged as a factor in the final solution to the problem. That having been said we are realistic enough to realise that the process of dialogue may throw up a better and more acceptable solution in which case NC will not play spoiler but will work for the success of the proposal. I need not mention that such a situation is unlikely to arise as no one has been able to find a constitutional or legal fault with the Autonomy proposal even if it is criticised for political reasons so the possibility of a better solution being suggested seems very remote.

NC has previously created a huge trust deficit by acting against the wishes of Kashmiris for pleasing New Delhi. Mahaz-e-Rai Shumari's fate is still fresh in public memory. Don't you think such statements will erode your credibility?
No, we stand firm behind our proposal. Please remember that I have said a solution "acceptable to the people of J&K and agreed to by India and Pakistan" so there is no question of pleasing either Delhi or Islamabad. The people we would like to see happy are the people of J&K and that will always be paramount.
Your recent visit to Pakistan was a low key affair. No meetings with Musharraf or other politicians. Does it signify any change in your policy or Pakistan's policy?
My visit to Pakistan was with the sole intention of attending the conference. It doesn't signify any change in my policy and if it signified a change in Pakistan's policy my fellow MP A.R. Shaheen (of NC) would not have had a half hour meeting with the new Prime Minister nor would he have been welcomed to the Parliament by the Speaker.

Hurriyat (Mirwaiz faction) is refusing to call for boycott in elections. Is your alleged understanding with them still on?
I have no understanding with them. I believe people must be free to choose whether to participate in elections or not. People must neither be forced in nor should they be forced out to participate in the political process. Let democracy throw up its own solutions.

You have been calling PDP a creation of Indian intelligence agencies inferring as if you have nothing to do with India when your party collaborated with fascist BJP and joined their government.
We were a part of NDA (National Democratic Alliance), a collection of more than 20 political parties. To suggest otherwise is a gross distortion of the facts to suit a predetermined position. We have everything to do with India and nothing to do with Indian Intelligence agencies. Unlike a number of discredited Kashmiri politicians we do not visit offices in Delhi to collect our monthly pay packet nor has anyone been caught carrying money to us.

What is your prediction about coming assembly elections?
I am not in the business of making predictions. It’s for the people to decide and a free and fair election will throw up a result acceptable to all.

The initial optimism about the India-Pak peace process seems to have faded in Kashmir. Why?
Because the process has not delivered results on the ground and the much talked about peace dividend has remained a cruel illusion.

Do you think Mehbooba Mufti scored a point over you as she managed to meet Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif?
I am glad that she finally summoned the courage to visit Pakistan and take advantage of the ground that I laid in 2006. Better late than never I always maintain. Main stream leaders are no longer untouchable in Pakistan and that is a very positive development. I hope that more such meetings take place at all levels and regular interactions are organised by the elected governments of both sides of Kashmir.

You seem to have been irritated by her activities in Pakistan as you alleged these meetings were conducted by the Indian government. You could have sought Indian help as well?
I only repeated a fact quoted in our most widely circulated and respected newspapers. A fact I may add PDP has been quick not to deny. I am not irritated I just want transparency as to what transpired in these meetings and consistency in statements. It is unfortunate when leaders like Mehbooba make proposals in Pakistan only to withdraw them upon return to India. Case in point; her proposal for Joint Control in Kashmir made at the conference in her circulated statement on page 5 and subsequently denied as a figment of the media's imagination.

There are reports that the Kashmiri resistance militants in Azad Kashmir are again regrouping. Does this signify any change in Pakistan’s policy and how do you view it?
If something on those lines were to happen it would be most unfortunate for the people of Jammu & Kashmir because there is little or no support for a violent solution to the problem. People want a negotiated settlement and that includes with the Kashmiri militant leadership similar to their dialogue with the Government of India in 2000.

March 2008