Dec 07 , 2015
News
Janjua, Doval meet in Bangkok to keep Hurriyat out of picture
Mirwaiz sees Kashmiris in Pak-India talks in ‘later stage’A file photo of Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit and Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Dr Umar Farooq in New Delhi.
NEW DELHI – Pakistanis and Indians, and probably the rest of the world, were in for a surprise when news broke of a ‘secretly planned’ meeting between national security advisers of the two neighbouring South Asian countries in Bangkok.Nasir Janjua and Ajit Doval along with respective foreign affairs secretaries talked for about four hours in the Thailand capital, including on the heated issue of Jammu Kashmir.
In August, the adviser-level talks scheduled to be held in New Delhi had been called off at the last minute, after a political tussle between India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz over the latter's insistence on meeting Hurriyat leaders.
The involvement of Kashmiri leaders in the bilateral dialogue was unacceptable to India, with Sushma citing the Simla Agreement that according to Indians does not allow for a third party. This may have precisely been the reason behind the hushed-up meeting on Sunday taking place hundreds of kilometres away from Islamabad and New Delhi, and Kashmir.
The meeting in Bangkok eliminated the issue of officials from Pakistan meeting with Hurriyat leaders, The Hindu newspaper reported. Earlier, the meeting was planned in Singapore between Janjua and Doval. Another hurdle for the August talks was the involvement of Jammu Kashmir in the discussion, which India had rejected.
The Indian Express newspaper reported that the Hurriyat factor had been the main reason for choosing a third country to host the first-adviser level meeting. However, India has apparently changed its stance, putting Kashmir back on the table and even discussing tranquility on the Line of Control in the disputed state.
“It is a good step that Pakistan and India are talking again… We always feel that there is no other option for the two countries but to engage with each other. We are happy that apart from other issues they have discussed Jammu Kashmir,” said Mirwaiz Dr Umar Farooq, chairman of the Hurriyat Conference. He noted that Kashmir issue needs to be on the agenda of the talks between the two countries.
“We are not averse to both countries discussing other issues. But Kashmir has to be on the agenda,” he said. He hoped that Indo-Pakistan leaders would involve Kashmiris in the process in the later stage as well. “It is a thaw. I am sure once talks move forward they will take Kashmiris on board. We are happy that both the countries have realised Kashmir cannot be put under back burner,” he said.
“We are not opposing talks but we want that the core issue of Kashmir to be addressed. Unless you address this core issue, the relations between the two countries cannot be good. People of Kashmir, who are the basic party to the dispute, needs to be involved. Unless they are taken on board talks cannot yield any result,” said Ayaz Akbar, spokesman of Ali Shah Geelani-led Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Welcoming the talks, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said that the two countries should take the initiative to the logical conclusion. “It is a good beginning. The two countries should take it to the logical conclusion,” said Mehboob Beg, chief spokesman for the party. Opposition National Conference party too welcomed the initiative hoping that there will be structured dialogue to solve all issues.
"We want that both countries should talk. And they should talk on all issues,” said Junaid Mattu, spokesman for the National Conference Former chief minister Omar Abdullah took to twitter to welcome the move. “Clearly Paris was more than the officially termed courtesy meeting. Good to see India and Pakistan resume dialogue process… Now the challenge is to make sure the dialogue process is ring-fenced from incidents designed specifically to derail it,” he tweeted.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk