All-party meet decides on inquiry into 15 civilian deaths, BJP dissents

Delegation to urge PM to restore internal and external dialogue

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jul 12: Top leaders of different mainstream political parties, excluding Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP and Prof Bhim Singh’s Panthers Party, today decided that an-party delegation would soon call on the Prime Minister and urge him to restore peace process with Pakistan and also engage the Valley’s separatist leadership in a fresh initiative of dialogue for resolution of the Kashmir crisis. Notwithstanding a note of dissent by BJP, participants at the meeting urged the state government to order a ‘credible inquiry’ into all 15 civilian deaths that have occurred in current spell of turmoil in Kashmir in the last one month.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah presided over the four-and-a-half-hour long all-party meeting at SKICC. While smaller outfits like Awami National Conference (ANC) had not been invited, leading Opposition party in the Valley, PDP, and Jammu-based National Panthers Party, stayed away from the meeting for different reasons.

After the meeting observed silence for two minutes over the death of 15 youth, killed in different incidents of violence since June 11th last, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave a detailed account of the incidents and circumstances leading to clashes between demonstrators and Police and CRPF. Sources present at the closed-door meeting revealed to Early Times that Chief Minister admitted certain administrative drawbacks and loopholes but, like yesterday, he insisted that most of the incidents of stone pelting and clashes had occurred in the segments that had poorly responded to the Assembly elections of 2008. He pointed out that there was little turbulence in the segments of high voter turnout. He implicitly conveyed that mainstream politics had not failed completely but the separatists were out on a fresh mobilization.

Chief Minister sought support from all political parties---mainstream as well as separatist---above the level of party politics and political ideology and asserted that his government would leave no stone unturned in reaching out to the perennially alienated sections of the population as well as those growing despondent with the establishment. He expressed hope that initiation of a fresh ‘transparent and visible’ peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad besides an internal dialogue with the separatist leadership would go a long way in restoration of peace and seeking resolution of the Kashmir crisis.

In his address, Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President, Prof Saifuddin Soz, stressed on a major employment drive and asserted that unemployment, coupled by a level of political disappointment, was a major reason of current unrest in the Valley. While assuring the state government full support from the Centre, Prof Soz asked Chief Minister to immediately raise 15 more battalions of Jammu & Kashmir Police.

While independent MLA from Langet, Engineer Sheikh Abdiul Rasheed, stressed on holding a dialogue with the United Jihad Council, he asserted that engaging Islamabad’s “dailywagers” (Hurriyat and other separatist outfits) would be an exercise in futility. He specifically said that Hurriyat and other separatist groups were not essentially representative of the alienated youth and they all, according to him, owed existence to the militants. Rasheed asserted that the Indian Army chief’’s “political statements” besides Union Home Secretary’s “unwarranted interference” into the state matters, like announcement of imposing and relaxing curfew in Srinagar, had not only worsened the situation but also made a mockery of the state’s special constitutional status.

BJP leaders, Ashok Khajuria and Shamsher Singh Manhas, clashed with Er Rasheed over the suggestion of engaging Pakistan-based militant alliances. They also took strong exception to senior National Conference leader and Minister of Law Ali Mohammad’s public condemnation of CRPF and insisted that such statements from mainstream politicians, particularly those of the ruling party, had terribly demoralized the security forces in Kashmir.

After four-hour-long discussion over the current strife in Valley, participants passed six resolutions. According to these resolutions, a joint delegation of all mainstream political parties would soon call on Prime Minister and urge him to restore peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad. It would also urge the Prime Minister to hold a fresh process of dialogue with the Valley’s separatist leadership.

An official press release said that the following resolutions were unanimously passed notwithstanding BJP’s dissent to holding of an inquiry into the civilian deaths reported in the last one month:-

1. The meeting expressed deep anguish at the unfortunate loss of lives during the recent disturbances and appealed to the State Government to consider adequate relief in favour of the families of the deceased.

2.The meeting further expressed its dismay over the economic losses suffered by the people during the disturbances, particularly by the small traders, vendors, daily wagers and other weaker sections of the society.

3.Keeping in view the suffering of the people, huge economic losses and the adverse impact on the education of the children, the All Parties Meeting made a fervent appeal to the people of the State, irrespective of their political affiliations, to come forward and help in the restoration of peace and normalcy.

4. The All Parties meeting urged the State Government to have an enquiry conducted to ascertain the circumstances leading to the death of the civilians.

5.The meeting also decided that an all party delegation shall call on the Prime Minister and invite his attention to various problems faced by the State.

6. The meeting also urged the Government of India to strengthen the on-going peace process through the internal and external dialogue.

The Parties which were represented in the meeting include National Conference (NC), Indian National Congress (INC), Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India(Marxist) (CPI-M), Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party(NCP), Samajwadi Party(SP), Peoples Democratic Front(PDF), Democratic Party Nationalist(DPN) besides MLA, Langate, Er. Abdul Rashid, MLA, Kathua, Mr. Charanjeet Singh and MLA, Leh, Mr. Tsetan Namgyal. Chief Secretary, SS Kapur, Financial Commissioner Home besides Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Khursheed Ahmed Ganai, were also present in the meeting.

The National Conference, President, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, President, Pradesh Congress Committee(PCC), Prof. Saif-u-Din Soz, Minister for Finance, Mr. Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Minister for Rural Development, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar, Minister for PHE, Mr. Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Minister for Forests, Mian Altaf Ahmed, Minister for Social Welfare, Ms. Sakina Itoo, Minister of State for Haj and Auquaf, Mr. Aijaz Ahmad Khan, State Secretary CPI (M), Mr. M. Y. Tarigami, DPN President, Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mir, PDF President, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen BJP President, Mr. Shamsher Singh Manhas and CPI State Secretary, Mr. Abdul Rehman Tukroo and State President Nationalist Congress Party, Th. Randhir Singh participated in the meeting.

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