Is The Sharif-Musharraf Rivalry Affecting Kashmiri Separatists?
While Islamabad’s policy towards Hurriyat Conference leader Geelani has stayed unchanged, Sharif’s return as PM has set separatist quarters in the Valley abuzz
RIYAZ WANI
File photo
Does Pakistan Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif’s rivalry with the former president
Pervez Musharraf have a bearing on the separatist politics in Kashmir? Theoretically, it does. And the odds are, it is already playing out across Kashmir’s separatist scene, with “rumours” that Islamabad might recognise Hurriyat (G) chairman
Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the Hurriyat chairman. And these rumours are validated by no less than Geelani’s close aide Ayaz Akber.
Whether this scenario actually comes to pass or not, it hardly detracts from the reasons for this expectation. And these reasons have to do with the relations the moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Geelani have enjoyed with Islamabad over the past decade. While Farooq has been on the best of terms with Pakistan, particularly with Musharraf, Geelani has generally been left out in the cold. But it is the relationship of these two leaders with Musharraf that is of particular interest under the circumstances. For it was Musharraf who, in 2005, turned his back on Geelani when the latter opposed his “out-of-the-box” approach to the Kashmir resolution.
It was an extraordinary step for any Pakistan government to undertake. All his life, Geelani has been a staunch pro-Pakistan leader, seeking Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan as an ideal settlement for the dispute over the state. This is why when in 2003 Hurriyat split on the issue of one of its constituents, People’s Conference, allegedly fielding proxy candidates in the 2002 elections, Islamabad was quick to recognise Geelani’s Hurriyat faction as the real Hurriyat and Geelani as its chairman. This hurtled the leader to the centre of the Valley’s separatist politics. It was a time when militancy was at its peak with car bombings and suicide missions lending it a lethal angle.
However, two years later, Islamabad decided to review its support to Geelani when he personally offended Musharraf on his visit to India by blaming him for diluting Pakistan’s position on Kashmir. Geelani had complained to the General that his advocacy of a flexible approach to the Kashmir resolution had relegated the UN resolution on Kashmir – the bulwark of the Kashmir dispute – to the background. These resolutions called for a free and fair plebiscite under UN auspices to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India.
Geelani subsequently led a sustained campaign against Musharraf’s Four Point proposals, which sought a settlement of Kashmir without a change in the borders. And when Musharraf finally resigned in 2008 under pressure from the lawyers’ agitation, Geelani, who at the time was addressing a rally in Srinagar, said his exit was “good news”, and good riddance.
On the other hand, the Farooq camp not only supported Musharraf in his peace endeavours with India but also worked to mobilise public opinion in Kashmir for his Four Point proposals.
However, while Islamabad’s policy towards Geelani stayed unchanged through the
PPP-led government, Sharif’s return as PM has set separatist quarters in the Valley abuzz. Would Sharif be more inclined towards Geelani since he had always stood up against his
bête noire Musharraf, and welcomed his exit?
“We have also heard rumours to this effect but can’t say anything conclusively,” Hurriyat (G) spokesman Ayaz Akber told Tehelka. “But this doesn’t matter. Our primary allegiance is to the struggle for Kashmir’s liberation. And we don’t need anybody’s recognition for this”.
When contacted, Farooq brushed aside these rumours. “Pakistan supports our just struggle. We are not privy to anything that suggests a policy change towards Hurriyat,” Farooq said adding, “ Besides, government policies are not individual specific but are shaped by national interest and geo-political factors”.
However, some separatist leaders, in private, dismiss the prospect of such a drastic shift. “Geelani Sahib stands for a maximalist solution for Kashmir. The question is if Pakistan decides to privilege him over other leaders, would he go with Islamabad’s new accommodationist approach towards the Kashmir resolution?,” said a moderate Hurriyat leader and then added, “ The answer is he won’t, and under the circumstances this would hardly be conducive to the efforts for a pragmatic, consensus-based Kashmir solution”.
In their recent meetings in New Delhi with Sartaj Aziz, the visiting advisor on foreign policy to the Pakistan Prime Minister, the separatists were once again urged “to close ranks” in the larger interests of the Azadi movement. Beyond that, as some separatist leaders who were part of these meetings put it, there was nothing new in the conversations. “These are routine, symbolic meetings, like curtsy calls where nothing new is discussed,” said a moderate Hurriyat leader, “The meetings are geared to make a statement. It is their form that is important not the content”.
.. taliban k anay say jo kashmir india k liye sar dard ha wo brain tumor ban jana ha 
..
My indian bros, So far Haqqanis are very successful in Afghan soil/ground and i think like Tendulkar they can simply outclass or can give serious headache to any opponent on foreign pitches/track
. and dont forget Kashmir is there Homeground
. So dont take it so easy.
And of course, subsidized food, electricity, water and so on, that costs less than half of what it costs in other parts of India. This really really sucks to hell and high heaven!
.. 
