AFTER VISIT TO INDIA AGENCIES START HARRAS

Peace is elusive in Jammu & Kashmir
Ghazanfur Butt Wednesday 21, June 2006
Source: The Pioneer
The glare of the Roundtable Conference in Srinagar, convened by the Central Government, took away the spotlight from a smaller but significant conference held in Manesar, near New Delhi, on May 18 and 19. Leaders from all parts of Jammu & Kashmir, including those from across the border, participated in the two-day meeting.The Manesar Conference was convened by the Institute for Conflict Management. Apart from representatives from different parts of Jammu & Kashmir, the meet attracted representatives of Kashmiri organisations based in the United Kingdom - Shabir Chowdhury, Nazir Gilani, Professor Nazirul Nazish, Adalat Ali and Abbas Butt.The conference was the first initiative to shift the Valley-centric discourse to larger issues concerning the diverse communities of Jammu & Kashmir.The two-day conference was marked by informality and warmth. It did not offer any solution to the Kashmir issue, but the participants were unanimous in their commitment to the peaceful solution of the issue. Almost everyone said that a solution to the issue lay with the process of negotiations.What lent added importance to the conference was the participation of representatives from the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Manzoor Hussain Parwana, the president of Gilgit-Baltistan Thinkers Forum, said that the region was facing popular unrest. There was a reluctance in Islamabad to accept the Gilgit-Baltistan region as part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Commonly known as Northern Territories, the area is directly ruled by Islamabad. It has six districts with a population of two million. Mr Parwana said that efforts should be made to bring the region to the same level of development as the rest of Pakistan.Mr Parwana said that the problem of Gilgit-Baltistan or Balwaristan has two layers - political as well as sectarian. When Pakistan took over the administration, it revived the black laws, "Frontier Crimes Regulations" (FCR). Under these regulations, the local population had no civil and political rights.Mr Shafaqat Inqalabi, a young leader belonging to the Karakoram National Movement, accused the ISI of committing human rights violations. The incidence of gross human rights violations have increased during the past one year since the assassination of Shiite leader Aga Ziauddin in January last year.Participants at the Manesar meeting were pleasantly surprised to see that the representatives of Gilgit and Baltistan did not have any problem in attending the conference. Initially it was believed that a change of heart had taken place in the Pakistan Government.However, the impression changed soon. The Pakistan agencies started harassing Mr Shafqat Inqilabi, the leader of the Balwaristan National Front, on his return.Commenting on the actions of Government of Pakistan, Mr Shabir Chowdhury, said on June 15: "Pakistan claims to be a well-wisher of the Kashmiri people and have assumed a role of an 'advocate'. A lawyer or an advocate is appointed by a client to get justice. In case of Kashmir dispute our self-appointed advocate is bent upon depriving its 'client' of everything. The so-called 'advocate' has already encroached more than 28,000 sq mile of 'clients' territory in the form of Gilgit and Baltistan, and has full control over the remaining area on this side of the LoC to exploit its resources."It is time the people of Jammu & Kashmir decided what is good for them. The Roundtable Conference has provided them an opportunity to voice their feelings.

Produced By: Free Media Foundation For
South Asian Free Media Association