An 11-member delegation of parliamentarians and civil society members on Saturday reached out to separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, and urged the Centre to involve all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir in any dialogue.
Continuing on their “fact-finding” mission, the delegation held detailed discussions with Mr. Geelani at his residence. “It was a cordial meeting and I told them to raise the Kashmir issue in Parliament and ask the government to fulfil promises made to Kashmiris,” Mr. Geelani said after the meeting.
He added that he was not averse to dialogue. “I have already given five points for making the atmosphere conducive.”
Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan told journalists that the Government of India had failed to implement its eight-point formula announced after the visit of the all-party delegation in September. He was a member of the team. “Nothing is visible on the ground,” he said, adding that the three-member group of interlocutors seemed to be out of touch with the people. “There should have been a political person in it and representation to the people of the State.”
Mr. Paswan said that there could be disagreement on the first point suggested by Mr. Geelani, on “accepting Kashmir as disputed,” but said there was no harm in responding to the other four points.
Mr. Geelani criticised the Government of India for placing him under house arrest and keeping the youth inside jails.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told the delegation that Kashmir was a political issue and India had to deal with it politically.
“The time has come when India should act upon addressing the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” he said, adding that the Government of India, which had kept its citizens unaware of the Kashmir issue, needed to inform them about it.
The delegation is also likely to meet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during its visit.
The parliamentarians in the group include D. Raja of the Communist Party of India, Gopal Chowdhary of the CPI (Marxist), Danish Ali of the Janata Dal (Secular), Nageshwar Rao of the Telugu Desam Party, Maheshwar Hazari of the Janata Dal (United). Filmmaker Mahesh Bhat, journalist Seema Mustafa and academician Kamal Mitra Chenoy are also part of the delegation.
‘Calm should not be taken for granted’
“The calm on the surface should not be taken for granted, and the prevailing situation should be used as an opportunity to address the problem,” Ms. Mufti said during her interaction with the delegation.
While appreciating the delegation's efforts to reach out to the people, she regretted that the Prime Minister's all-party delegation visit had left a lot to be desired as there was no follow-up action after their return.
Ms. Mufti said the delegation had raised hope among the people as it was the first high-level political team visiting the State and had broken the ice by reaching out to the separatists.
However, she pointed out, though the centrepiece of the eight-point formula was the release of prisoners, thousands of youth had been arrested even after the announcement.
