prasad1
Active member
Now is the opportune moment to call the bluff of Kashmiri separatists. Over the years they have ranted against India and raved about Pakistan with impunity. They did that again in the Valley on Wednesday. Their bravado is driven by the conviction that response to their acts would be tepid and pusillanimous. Cases would be slapped against them, but these would take years to reach closure in the courts.
Neither Syed Ali Shah Geelani, nor his presumed successor as the head of his Hurriyat faction Masarat Alam, has shown the slightest inclination to move an inch from their stated goal: to ‘liberate’ J & K from Indian ‘occupation.’ To achieve this goal, they know that they can count on Pakistan’s active encouragement to foment trouble in the state. Separatists are aware that no government in New Delhi would ever agree to holding a plebiscite in J & K in line with UNSC resolutions. These became wholly redundant after the India-Pakistan Shimla agreement and Lahore declaration. Both countries are duty-bound to discuss the Kashmir dispute on a bilateral basis alone. No third party can be seated on the negotiating table.
Islamabad’s insistence that the separatists are ‘authentic representatives’ of the Kashmiri people is oblivious of ground realities in J & K, whose political aspirations are not only diverse but also divergent. And almost everybody in the state is tired of two decades of senseless violence. Let Geelani and Masarat and others of their ilk who have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Ranbir Penal Code be put on trial at the earliest. Let the courts ensure its speedy conclusion. Their conviction might not persuade separatists to renounce their pipe dreams. But it will serve to demonstrate they are men of straw – and communal to boot.
Draw red lines: Seize the moment to call the bluff of Kashmir separatists - TOI Blogs
Neither Syed Ali Shah Geelani, nor his presumed successor as the head of his Hurriyat faction Masarat Alam, has shown the slightest inclination to move an inch from their stated goal: to ‘liberate’ J & K from Indian ‘occupation.’ To achieve this goal, they know that they can count on Pakistan’s active encouragement to foment trouble in the state. Separatists are aware that no government in New Delhi would ever agree to holding a plebiscite in J & K in line with UNSC resolutions. These became wholly redundant after the India-Pakistan Shimla agreement and Lahore declaration. Both countries are duty-bound to discuss the Kashmir dispute on a bilateral basis alone. No third party can be seated on the negotiating table.
Islamabad’s insistence that the separatists are ‘authentic representatives’ of the Kashmiri people is oblivious of ground realities in J & K, whose political aspirations are not only diverse but also divergent. And almost everybody in the state is tired of two decades of senseless violence. Let Geelani and Masarat and others of their ilk who have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Ranbir Penal Code be put on trial at the earliest. Let the courts ensure its speedy conclusion. Their conviction might not persuade separatists to renounce their pipe dreams. But it will serve to demonstrate they are men of straw – and communal to boot.
Draw red lines: Seize the moment to call the bluff of Kashmir separatists - TOI Blogs
