With the all-party meeting in New Delhi failing to produce a result, separatists in Kashmir are feeling vindicated, while mainstream parties such as National Conference (NC) have been left in a quandary.
The separatists, both moderate and hardliners, had been saying that the meeting would not solve any problem and now they are having the last laugh.
“The meeting will not solve the Kashmir problem. The prime minister did not focus on the core issue of Kashmir,” Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani had said on Wednesday morning before the meeting started.
“Our peaceful struggle will continue till we achieve the goal of right to self-determination. We had set five conditions, but the government has not responded,” he said.
On the other hand, the ruling NC is facing its worst credibility crisis, though publicly it expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the meeting.
“The president of the party has said he is satisfied, that means we are satisfied. It is a good thing that all parties met and discussed. We believe in dialogue and it has started at the highest level. Plus, sending a parliamentary delegation is a good step,” Mustafa Kamal, senior NC leader and chief minister Omar Abdullah’s uncle, said.
He pitched for lifting Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). “It [the Act] needs to be revisited. It was brought in difficult circumstances which do not exist now. Militancy is almost finished. I do not see any justification for its continuation,” Kamal said.
Bhim Singh, chairman of National Panthers Party, said the all-party meeting was discriminatory towards the people of Jammu and Ladakh who remained unrepresented for the first time. “National Conference and Congress have been taking the people of Jammu for a ride,” he said.
