Centres special representative on Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma is on his third visit to J&K. And on this visit he has chosen to interact with the people in North Kashmir. In the North too, Sharma went about his by now familiar activity. In Kupwara, where two civilians were recently killed by the security forces, a number of delegations met him at Dak Bungalow. Incidentally, among the people who chose to meet him was Mohammad Iqbal Bhat, father of the cab driver Asif Iqbal, who was shot dead by Army on December 16. Bhat sought punishment for the sons killers. And on his part, Sharma gave him a patient hearing and also assured him of justice.
The interlocutors second visit was a moderate success. He surprisingly pulled off a meeting with Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, the top Hurriyat leader. Though Bhat denied that any such meeting had taken place, he had earlier chosen to adopt a meaningful silence over the reports of such a contact. In fact, Bhat had even revealed his open-mindedness about the dialogue with Sharma. Former Hurriyat chairman even called on Kashmiri leadership to make an outline of a workable Kashmir solution, a solution that is pragmatic and which takes on board the future, not the past. And Sharma on his part has been silent about the truth of such a meeting.
However, as Sharmas latest visit to the state makes it amply clear, holding an alleged meeting with Bhat has made little difference to his initiative. Sharmas activity has struggled to make it to the front page of the local newspapers. Even the national newspapers have largely ignored him. Truth is that the meetings with a diversified group of people, organizations and associations seems little more than a time-buying exercise. One can hardly expect the interlocutor to glean any new insight about Kashmir. It is clear now that this interlocution like its preceding exercise looks more like an academic research project rather than an honest effort designed to find a solution. The simplest fact is that Kashmir is Kashmir, a 70 year old issue, well known in all its layered aspects and the dimensions. And the best thing an individual or a group assigned the onerous task of resolving the problem can do is to create a sustained engagement with the political groups – and if possible even militant groups – challenging New Delhi’s writ in the state and try and achieve an understanding and possibly an agreement. Of course, with Islamabad on board. Every other activity only diverts us from this goal. But would Sharma follow this simplest mantra to work towards a solution. Or to put it more aptly, is he even authorized to make such an effort. The answer to these questions can hardly be in the affirmative. And if at all this supposed political outreach can be hoped to be taken seriously by the people, it has to move beyond the unhelpful interactions with the hundreds of the irrelevant delegations and pursue a credible process of resolution of the conflict.
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