It is wrong to view Mufti’s quarrels with the Congress party through a partisan lens
Although Pakistan had forever been attempting to stoke the fire in the Kashmir valley, it was in 1989 that it received its strongest dose of encouragement. Terrorists from the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front kidnapped the daughter of India’s home minister and demanded the release of some of their comrades. The Indian government capitulated. The home minister in question was Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Sayeed is now part of the ruling coalition in Jammu & Kashmir, and was chief minister under the time-sharing arrangement. His party rode to power batting for underground separatists and the terrorists among them. Now that the political winds have changed, and the Hurriyat looking more likely than ever to contest future state assembly elections, Sayeed fears that the carpet might just be snatched from under his feet. So he is on the march to occupy the ground once filled by the Hurriyat. By raking up the issue of troop withdrawals it is Sayeed now who sounds like Gen Musharraf’s spokesman.
It is fortunate that Ghulam Nabi Azad is not merely the chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir but also a senior Congress party leader. That will make it harder for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to succumb to Sayeed’s brinkmanship. The stakes are too high, however, to count on party solidarity alone to ensure that Kashmir does not go back to chaos at this stage. Sayeed’s moves demonstrate that cares for nothing—neither his state nor the nation—more than his own political survival. It would be a shame if everyone else did too.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed must not be allowed to succeed to destroy Kashmir another time. The BJP and its allies would do well to throw their weight—publicly and in parliament—behind Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s position, and compel Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stand firm.
[...] Spurred by the venerable signalman opposition has got its act together ‘We will take to the streets if troops are reduced in the state,’ BJP vice president Hari Om told reporters here Wednesday after submitting a memorandum to Governor S.K. Sinha, who himself voiced his opposition Tuesday to demilitarisation, as demanded by the PDP.Om said the party has demanded governor’s rule in the state under article 92 of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of political turmoil in the state, arising out of a confrontation between the two ruling coalition partners – Congress and PDP.[India ENews] [...]
[...] This friends is what happens to Nations that allow the enemy to frame the terms of debate because you are then stuck in defensive postures making excuses for what the enemy wants you to do rather than what you want based on your supreme national interest. Also read Nitin for his take on Mufti’s demand. [...]
Demilitarisation in Kashmir – self goal for India…
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[...] This friends is what happens to Nations that allow the enemy to frame the terms of debate because you are then stuck in defensive postures making excuses for what the enemy wants you to do rather than what you want based on your supreme national interest. Also read Nitin for his take on Mufti’s demand. [...]