An important reason Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pushed the envelop on the dialogue process with Pakistan in recent months was the relative normality visible in Jammu and Kashmir whose potential appeared sustainable. Past trends suggest that calm India-Pakistan ties help deepen the peace with the people in Kashmir.
Seen in that light, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti’s adamant refusal to attend Monday’s all-party meeting in Srinagar on the eve of external affairs minister S.M. Krishna’s scheduled talks with his Pakistan counterpart on April 15 in Islamabad could have a constraining effect on Dr Singh’s effort to build understanding with Pakistan.
A key so-called mainstream party of Kashmir adopting positions from which extremists can derive comfort can only help Pakistan leverage the foreign minister talks better. It is also likely to strengthen Islamabad’s hands in not cracking down on the anti-India terrorist outfits. This is New Delhi’s principal demand.
In the light of Ms Mufti’s stand, it will be difficult for the Centre to explore new talks with the Kashmir separatists, as chief minister Omar Abdullah has been asking for.
The pro-Pakistan extremist lobbies in the Valley would be loathe to oblige the Centre when the mainline PDP is acting contrary.
Dr Singh telephoned the PDP leader on Sunday to urge her to attend the meeting called by the chief minister in a bid to repair the situation in the Valley which has turned sensitive in the last fortnight. She turned down the Prime Minister’s request, as she had refused the invitation from the chief minister a day before.
Ms Mufti has in turn asked the Prime Minister to end the “crackdown” in the Valley. But where is the crackdown? There is no Army deployment.
The curfew has officially been lifted, although some restrictions remain to prevent miscreants from gathering in mob strength to disturb the peace, as they had done in the past fortnight.
The PDP leader’s use of an artificial construct — the ending of a non-existent crackdown — to refuse the Prime Minister and the chief minister is a thinly disguised device to convey to all concerned that she is ready to challenge the National Conference-Congress paradigm in the Valley.