The Hindu : Jethmalani meets PM, holds talks with Shabir Shah

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 30, 2002

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National

Jethmalani meets PM, holds talks with Shabir Shah

By Harish Khare

New Delhi Aug. 29. The Kashmir Committee, under the chairmanship of the former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, held the second round of "structured dialogue'' with the separatist leader, Shabir Shah of the Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party this evening. The two "delegations'' would meet again tomorrow.

Mr. Jethmalani was assisted by other committee members, including Ashok Bhan,(convener) and Shanti Bhusan, while Mr. Shah brought with him representatives from Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri, besides those from the Kashmir Valley. Mr. Shah's delegation consisted of Abdul Salam Rather, Syed Saleem Gilani, Prof. G.M.Sheikh, Mohammad Safi Khan, Narinder Singh Khalsa, Satish Gupta and Chowdhary Khadam Hussain.

Before the talks with Mr. Shah, Mr. Jethmalani and two other committee members had a meeting with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. The committee believes that Mr. Jethmalani met Mr. Vajpayee in his capacity as the chairman of the Kashmir panel, but the rime ministerial aides were insistent, for the record, that Mr. Jethmalani was meeting the Prime Minister in his individual capacity as a former Cabinet colleague.

However, it is believed that Mr. Vajpayee was appreciative of the efforts made by the committee and particularly noted that those committed to violent means were now prepared to sit across the table.

Mr. Vajpayee is also understood to have told Mr. Jethmalani that "logically'' his interlocutors should be participating in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, but he also wanted to emphasis that the process of dialogue would continue even after the election was over.

Interestingly enough, Mr. Shah had a meeting this morning with A.K. Dulat, Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister's Office.

Mr. Shah and other "separatist'' leaders are nursing the grievance against the Centre that many Central emissaries had promised that the electoral time-table could be postponed to facilitate the "dialogue process'' finding its rhythm. They are also upset that even the much-promised "Governor's rule'' has not come about.

Mr. Jethmalani has been endeavouring to bring about a meeting between Mr. Shah and the Prime Minister; for now, there seems to be little possibility of such a meeting materialising in the next few days.

The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, has refused to meet Mr. Shah or any leader from the Hurriyat combine.

Mr. Shah's delegation consists of leaders who, like him, had suffered prolonged jail sentences and are sceptical of the "sincerity'' of all Indian interlocutors.

Mr. Jethmalani and Mr. Bhan have been trying to impress upon the Kashmiri leaders that the ideal "solution'' must necessarily be anchored in the vision of a "democratic, secular Kashmir''.

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