Both the dimensions of the Kashmir problem, internal as well as external, will have to be handled simultaneously, said National Conference working president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah.
Delivering the keynote address at The Hindu Literary Festival, Lit for Life 2016, here on Friday, Mr. Abdullah said: “At various points in time we have tried to address either the internal or the external dimension in isolation and we have failed. Whether it is the talks in Tashkent, whether it is the Shimla Agreement, whether it is Lahore, whether it is Agra, these were all efforts that were made to address the external dimensions of the problem between India and Pakistan, while ignoring the internal dimension.”
Pointing to the efforts targeted at resolving the internal dimensions of the problem, Mr. Abdullah said “whether it was the Indira-Sheikh accord, the Rajiv-Farooq Accord or the recent Modi-Mufti agreement that created the recent state government, these are all efforts to address the internal dimension. Unless we address both the dimensions simultaneously, I dare say, a few years down the line, we will still be discussing Kashmir from the context of problem rather that from the context of peace.”
“There is enough scope within the Constitution of India to address to a large extent some of the sense of political alienation that exists on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir, to allow for a meaningful solution,” said Mr. Abdullah.
“I am more hopeful than I am optimistic, because I have to remain hopeful. If I am not hopeful I would just be despondent. Twenty-five years is a long time to go through, living in a place that is led by conflict and bloodshed. If I lose hope then I can’t instil hope in others. As of now I don’t have that much cause for optimism. I have seen in the last 16-18 months, far too much knee-jerk reactions to what happens in Jammu and Kashmir and in the immediate neighbourhood,” said Mr. Abdullah.
