Kashmir unrest: Mehbooba Mufti invites separatists for all-party talks

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday sent a letter to various separatist parties and groups urging them to meet the All-Party Delegation which is arriving in Srinagar on a two-day visit on Sunday “to share your thoughts and beliefs with this distinguished group which represents the people of India and not only the Government of India”. This, she said, was imperative “to convert our conviction and commitment of a peaceful and prosperous J&K into reality.”

Acknowledging the separatists including the Hurriyat Conference are stakeholders in the dispute over Kashmir, she said in the letter the copies of which were sent to media persons “I do hope that you will give this suggestion of mine a thought and indicate a time and place of your convenience for an exchange of ideas with the delegation.”

This is for the first time that the Chief Minister has sought a direct contact with the Kashmiri separatist leaders, by writing them a letter. But a spokesman of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) said that she has written to these leaders and parties in her capacity as the party president.

According to the spokesman, Mufti reached out all key separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, Moulvi Abbas Ansari, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Bilal Gani Lone, Aga Syed Hassan, Naeem Ahmad Khan besides those heading Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith and other groups by sending them the signed letter.

The letter begins with As-salāmu Ê¿alaykum (peace be upon you), the greeting which is a standard salutation among Muslims. It then talks about how the political leadership of Jammu and Kashmir is “deeply concerned, albeit in own way, about the existing situation in the Valley but adds “Notwithstanding the fact that you and I have different and divergent political ideologies.” Yet she says she has no doubt that all have the best interest of the people of the state in mind.

“True, our politics and programs are at variance with each other, but our concerns for our people and society in general, and the future of our youth in particular, should not be any different,” the letter says adding “As such, I write to you in my capacity as the President of the J&K Peoples Democratic Party and request you to take the lead and engage with the All-Party Delegation of Parliamentarians visiting the state tomorrow”. She assures them, “This will be the start of a credible and meaningful political dialogue and resolution process to end the stalemate”.

The letter further states, “Cutting across party lines and political positions, the country’s political leadership has reached out and it is for us to collectively lend it credence and credibility. All of us, be it the mainstream political parties or political groups with a separatist agenda, voice the urges and aspirations of our people, as we understand those, and seek a resolution of the problems as we see them from our own perspectives”.

Mehbooba promises in the letter that her party has always believed that the Hurriyat Conference is a stakeholder in the peace, resolution and prosperity of the state. “Indeed, right in the beginning in our party’s founding declaration we stood for dialogue with all stakeholders as the only way forward. When we formed an alliance with the Congress party (in 2002), the cornerstone of our Common Minimum Program was dialogue with parties of all ideological hues”. She adds, “This was later followed by an unconditional dialogue, under the leadership of the then Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee,and with Deputy Prime Minster, L K Advani”.

The letter tells separatists that the PDP had in its manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, clearly mentioned that it (PDP) will seek the resolution of the issue taking Hurriyat Conference on board and that the same was reiterated in the manifesto for the J&K Assembly polls held later during that year.

She then talks about ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ which is the basis of the PDP’s government formation with its alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and says that there also it has been made clear that the state government will create conditions to facilitate resolution of all issues. The letter says the state government will also help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all the stakeholders, including all political groups in J&K irrespective of their ideological views and predilections, to build a broad based consensus on resolution of all outstanding issues of Kashmir.