On July 6, Moulvi Abbas Ansari resigned
as chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, comprising
various pro-secession Kashmiri parties, irked at the differences
within the conglomeration.
In Delhi -- to be with
his grandson who is undergoing treatment for kidney failure
in a city hospital -- Ansari told Chief Correspondent
Onkar Singh in an exclusive interview that he was willing
to reconsider his resignation but had some conditions.
Why did you resign?
I have not resigned per
se. What I have done is asked Mirwaiz Umer Farooq to take
over as acting chairman. Until two months ago, the Government
of India was talking only to us, but later, (then) prime
minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said they would talk to
other parties as well. I
felt the government had lost its sincerity. I also felt
that if we were to carry forward our process of dialogue,
then we should unite amongst ourselves and bring into
the Hurriyat those leaders who have so far stayed so that
we can all talk in one voice with the Government of India.
Did you invite
people like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who wants to chair
the Hurriyat, and Shabbir Shah to join you in the talks?
We have made an offer to
(Shabbir) Shahsaheb to join our delegation and had told
him that we would drop one of our five members to give
him space. But he did not accept our offer. He is of the
view that we should not have held talks with the Government
of India at all. As
far as Geelani is concerned, he is not chairman of the
breakaway group of the APHC as he is normally referred
to in the media. His own party, the Jamaat, has expelled
him from the party and it is the Jamaat that is a constituent
of Hurriyat Conference. Geelani
would have to either rejoin the Jamaat or float a new
outfit and then apply for the Hurriyat's membership. Once
that is done and he becomes a member of the general council,
he can then seek election to the executive committee.
Only after that can he become chairman of the APHC.
Do you feel there
is a need to broaden your delegation?
Definitely. We would like
to carry everyone in Kashmir along with the Hurriyat Conference.
If Shahsaheb wants to join us, he is welcome. So are the
others.
You say you have
resigned but Mirwaiz has not yet taken over. What is the
position?
As far as I am concerned,
I have handed over the chairmanship to him. Whether he
has taken over or not, I am not sure. He, in any case,
would be acting chairman till someone else is elected
chairman in my place.
Why is no one ready
to take over as chairman of the Hurriyat Conference?
I am ready to continue
as chairman another year plus one month. That is when
my tenure ends. But I want that we should all speak in
one voice. India has put us in a very awkward position.
If we continue to talk in different voices, then India
can tell the world that they were ready to talk to us
but we did not respond properly. I am pained at the attitude
of some of the leaders on this count.
Do you feel it
will take some time before you have your third round of
talks with the government?
Our effort is to unite
with those organisations that are not a part of the dialogue
process so far. The moment that is achieved, we would
be ready to continue the talks and take them to their
logical end. I cannot give you any timeframe for whether
the talks would be held in July or in August.
Recently there
has been a spurt in terrorist violence. Has that changed
the ground realities in Kashmir?
Of course, these incidents
have changed the ground realities. An organisation called
'Save Kashmir' has suddenly sprung up from nowhere and
has started accusing the Hurriyat leadership of selling
Kashmir to the Government of India. These incidents took
place when the valley was full of tourists.The
first incident took place in Pahalgam; the second one
right in front of the Tourist Centre in Srinagar; and
the third was when a madrassa was burnt in downtown Srinagar.
There is a pattern to the whole thing. Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has done little to
catch the culprits.
Have you carried
out your own investigation?
The Jammu and Kashmir police
and intelligence agencies have to investigate these incidents
and catch the culprits. We would have been able to catch
them provided the guns of the terrorists and the security
forces fall silent. Then we could catch those behind the
Save Kashmir organisation and bring them before the people.
If they can ring up a journalist and give him a statement
claiming to have committed a crime, then why can't the
Jammu and Kashmir police track down the culprits?
You told that
a few weeks ago that you would tender your resignation
in case some other person from the Hurriyat wants to become
chief minister?
I made this offer because
few persons in the Hurriyat felt they had not been made
chairman. I made this offer to Mirwaiz Umer Farooq on
May 21. If he can lead the Hurriyat, he is welcome to
do so.
Are you scared?
Why should we be scared
of anyone? We would brave death and continue to hold talks.
We are holding talks with the Government of India in order
to end the miseries of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Over seven lakh Kashmiris have been killed in the last
56 years.
How long will this
bloodshed continue?
The Government of India
and government of Pakistan have to admit that we Kashmiris
are a party to the dispute between India and Pakistan.
They have admitted this in so many words in the United
Nations. Death comes to everyone. We must and we will
carry forward this process of dialogue even at the cost
of our lives.
Do you see light
at the end of the tunnel?
I compliment Atal Bihari
Vajpayee for restarting the process of dialogue between
India and Pakistan and also with the Hurriyat Conference.
Yes, I do see light at the end of the tunnel. It may take
time but this dispute cannot linger on forever. The Kashmir
problem has to be solved if India and Pakistan want to
live in a peaceful manner as neighbours
