The separatist Hurriyat leaders may have wanted to have nothing to do with the visiting all-party delegation led by Union home minister P. Chidambaram, having announced their decision to not meet it. But all didn’t seem lost as some delegation members reached out to both Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani as also its moderate face Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and met them within hours of landing here.
And thus were taken a few tentative but significant steps in at least trying to have some sort of engagement with the separatists and also the moderates during the extremely troubled times that the Kashmir Valley has been witnessing over the last three months. Over 100 people have died in the Valley since early June, a majority of them young boys in their teens even as violence in the Valley continues unabated.
Some delegation members also called on JKLF chief Yasin Malik, who too had declared on Monday morning that he would not meet the all-party team. While PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti stayed away from the meeting, a delegation from her party did go and demanded "out-of-the-box thinking" to resolve the Kashmir problem.
Earlier, the 39-member delegation led by Mr Chidambaram arrived here on Monday morning in what is being touted as a bid by the political class to ascertain the ground situation in the turmoil-ridden Kashmir Valley. The delegation probably had the first taste of the situation as it travelled through deserted streets of curfew-bound Srinagar.
While Hurriyat hawk S.A.S. Geelani had announced his decision to not participate in the all-party meeting some days ago, the Mirwaiz had announced it only on Monday morning along with JKLF chief Yasin Malik, both having got the invitation only on Sunday evening.
Ironically, both Mr Geelani and the Mirwaiz are now under house arrest. But on Monday evening, five members of the all-party delegation came trooping first into Mr Geelani’s Hyderpora residence and then the Mirwaiz’s house. Interestingly, both meetings took place in the full glare of the media, with TV cameras beaming visuals of the interaction into Indian homes.
The delegation members who met the Hurriyat leaders were the CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, the AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, Ratan Singh Ajnala of the Akali Dal, T.R. Baalu of the DMK and Nama Nageshwara Rao of the Telugu Desam.
At Mr Geelani’s residence, while the aging leader reiterated his stand on Kashmiris’ "right to self-determination" and attacked the security agencies for killing innocents, Mr Yechury told him that the delegation had come to express its sympathy with the people of Kashmir and to initiate a process that would help resolve the issue.
At the same time, Mr Yechury emphasised the need for peace and normality to return to the Valley, only after which issues and disputes could be discussed. He also said that the spate of deaths in the Valley needed to stop as these were simply unacceptable. Mr Owaisi too asked the Hurriyat hardliner to give peace a chance in the Valley.
Mr Geelani later told reporters that he would now wait for New Delhi to issue a statement on the all-party team’s visit and then decide on the next step. He also said that the five conditions put forward by him to engage with New Delhi should have been considered when the all-party meeting was held in the national capital last week.
Yet another group from the all-party delegation met the Mirwaiz at his Nagin residence. Speaking to this newspaper, the Mirwaiz said: "The Kashmir problem simply cannot be wished away." He added: "There is
only one answer to the Kashmiri sentiment, and Delhi has to acknowledge that sentiment — and that is azaadi."
Earlier in the day, the Mirwaiz and the JKLF chief released a memorandum for the all-party delegation. The demands in it include the setting up of an all-party committee each in India and Pakistan, to be dubbed the Kashmir Committees. The memorandum said: "Let the government of India facilitate (and) establish and empower an official body, a Kashmir Committee, consisting of senior representatives of all major Indian political parties, to develop and enter into a process of engagement with the representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir."
It added that the formation of such panels in India and Pakistan would "ensure that all major political forces in India and Pakistan are on board with the peace process".
Earlier in the day, a stream of different groups, though a majority represented political parties, met the all-party delegation here. The National Conference said the time had come to address the issue of autonomy and also sought revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, saying it was no longer required.
The Congress delegation said "dialogue is the only way to move forward", and added that the "situation is very difficult... and a way out needs to be found".