Shabir Shah ready for negotiations

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, APRIL 30. Seeking clarifications from the Centre on its offer of talks on the Kashmir dispute, the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Mr. Shabir Shah, today said his party was ready for a dialogue at any time, anywhere.

A three-member JKDFP team would meet the Government interlocutor, Mr. K. C. Pant, to hand over a letter discussing flaws in the offer to various sections of people in the State. Shortly after the announcement, one of the members of the proposed team, Mr. Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, withdrew saying he was not consulted on the issue.

At a crowded news conference, Mr. Shah said his party was not against the dialogue process but said it should be meaningful and lead to a final settlement of the Kashmir imbroglio. The letter written by Mr. Pant to him and other leaders was vague and described the problem as one merely relating to law and order. ``It is full of ambiguities and it has also been sent to those who are agents of India and believe in the State's accession to India,'' said the JKDFP chief adding ``we do not accept the accession''.

Questioning the credibility of mainstream politicians including the Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, he said they had nothing to do with the process.

Trilateral talks

The JKDFP seriously discussed the contents of the letter, and later a meeting of over 600 people from all walks of life deliberated on the issue. The party's executive committee believed in the resolution of the Kashmir conflict through a genuine political dialogue involving India, Pakistan and the ``true representatives'' of the Kashmiris. The offer was flawed as there was no mention of the Kashmir issue, source of tension in the subcontinent for over five decades. ``The letter talks about peace with reference to law and order which is not the case,'' he said. The Centre should make it clear what it meant by ``its own people'', ``peace'' and why Pakistan did not figure anywhere.

A JKDFP team comprising Moulana Mohammad Abdullah Taari, Syed Salim Geelani and Mr. Rasheed would shortly leave for Delhi, and hand over a letter to Mr. Pant explaining the party's stand. Copies of the latter were later distributed to mediapersons. ``One does not really understand the motive behind your proposition of diluting the dialogue to a sundry level,'' the letter said.

A dialogue, though aimed at achieving peace, had to revolve round the resolution of Kashmir problem. India should simultaneously talk to Pakistan as well so that the latter was involved in the process. The Indian Government, he said, should put an end to human rights violations in the State and free all detenus to create an atmosphere conducive for a meaningful dialogue.

Asked whether he would himself lead the dialogue, Mr. Shah said, ``it remains to be seen and depends upon the response of the Government.'' But, he was ready to talk anywhere. While insisting on trilateral talks to resolve the issue, he said a beginning should be made adding the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) should not have rejected the offer. Instead, it should have told New Delhi about the offer being inappropriate or incomplete.

Militants' response good

It appeared that the Centre's objective was to create confusion besides deliberately undermining the importance of pro- freedom movement parties in the State, he said adding the JKDFP letter to Mr. Pant demanded that pro-India parties be delinked from the process. Mr. Shah also said the separatists were ready to fight elections if only to prove their representative character. On consultations with the militants on the issue, he said his party leaders in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were in touch with militant groups and there had been a good response. ``I will go to Ladakh and Jammu to talk to people from different shades of life,'' he said.

Immediately after the announcement, Mr. Rasheed said he had not been consulted before being named in the team to Delhi. ``When the decision of constituting the team was taken I was not there. I am not going,'' he said. Asked whether he would reconsider if the party made a request, he said, ``it will be seen at that time.''

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