Former PoK Prime Minister visiting Kashmir

Sultan Mahmood Chaudhuri, first high official to be allowed to visit Indian side of LoC

September 18, 2011 01:25 am | Updated 01:25 am IST - NEW DELHI:

Sultan Mahmood Chaudhuri, former Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), will begin a five-day visit to Srinagar on Sunday — thus becoming the first high official, former or serving, from the province, which India claims as its territory, to visit this side of the Line of Control (LoC).

Mr. Chaudhuri, who served as the Prime Minister of PoK between 1996 and 2005, will be attending the wedding of Srinagar resident Yasir Shah — the son of local businessman Zahoor Ahmad Watali.

Long a key figure in the politics of PoK, Mr. Chaudhuri was returned to the provincial legislature in each election since 1985. He joined the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in 1994, left it five years ago to form his own organisation, but returned to the fold on the eve of this summer's elections.

He was traditionally seen as hardliner, and had been vociferous in his opposition to a five-principles peace accord hammered out between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's former military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, in 2008. The proposals stalled after Pakistan's chief of army staff, Pervez Ashfaq Kayani, backtracked when General Musharraf demitted office.

“Easing restrictions on travel between both sides of the LoC and pulling out Indian troops from Kashmir are fine,” he told The Hindu , “but other elements of the proposals are unacceptable. This is because the proposals are, in fact, intended to turn the LoC into an international border, which is unacceptable to Kashmiris.” “India,” he said, “is a democracy, and should, therefore, accept the will of the people of Kashmir”.

“However,” Mr. Chaudhuri said, “I'm here for the wedding of an old friend's son, not to talk politics. I do not intend to meet with political leaders while I am in Kashmir.”

Mr. Watali, a businessman with interests in the timber industry, has been closely linked to the Muslim Conference — a party long led by the secessionist politician Abdul Gani Lone, who was assassinated by the Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2002, while he was engaged in secret peace talks with both Islamabad and New Delhi. He remains close to Mr. Lone's older son and political heir, Sajjad Lone.

Muhammad Yasin Malik, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front leader, was also close to Mr. Watali —from whose home he was arrested in 1990.

Perhaps ironically, Mr. Watali is also the brother of Ali Muhammad Watali — a respected police officer whose attempted assassination on September 18, 1988, is counted as the first armed action of the ongoing insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.

The PPP, Mr. Chaudhuri's party, did well in elections held this summer in PoK, winning 27 of 40 seats. He was, however, left out in the cold; Chaudhuri Abdul Majid, a party veteran, became Prime Minister.

Mian Abdul Qayyum Khan, another former Prime Minister of PoK, visited India three years ago but was not allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir.

“I'm intrigued at the government's decision to grant Mr. Chaudhuri a visa,” said Sushant Sareen, a consultant at the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis. “He has traditionally been seen as a hawk, committed to internationalising the Kashmir dispute. The fact that he has been allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir suggests to me there could be processes underway here that are more significant than a wedding”.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.