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Bl[i]tZ
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Its Not Fair to Demand Action From Our Side.
Abdullah, the scion of Indian-administered Kashmirs most powerful political dynasty, assumed the office of chief minister in 2009. It has been interesting times for him. During the 2010 intifada, he kept confined to his official quarters. He has also been accused of covering up human rights abuses perpetrated by Indian troops. Newsweek Pakistans Shehrbano Taseer spoke with him recently about this and more. Excerpts:
This year in Kashmir has been much calmer than the last. What do you attribute this to?
People are realizing the futility of protests and violence. The loss of lives was the most tragic, but the economic losses were huge as well. People did not want to see this anymore or live like that. Secondly, the government was far more proactive in dealing with flashpoints that arosethe techniques and tactics were more refined and nonlethal equipment was used for crowd control. The single largest factor, though, was that people really did want to give peace a chance and have a summer without disturbances.
How unique were last years protests, and what lessons have you drawn from the Kashmiri intifada?
The rural local bodies have had elections and this has been a concrete step toward empowering people. The government was more proactive in reaching out to people and engaging with them at the bureaucratic and political levels. The police have worked to change the perception of them as being at odds with the public.
Indian Kashmir is heavily militarized. Do you foresee a reduction in troops?
Weve already made a start in reducing the footprint of the security forces. The more we can consolidate peace and the more the levels of violence come down, the more we will be able to stretch the removal to other areas.
Did last years intifada vindicate Pakistans longstanding demand for a plebiscite?
Its all very well for Pakistan to demand a plebiscite while conveniently forgetting that it has not made it easy for that to be the case. It was Pakistan that invaded Kashmir in 1947 and then refused to vacate the territories. Pakistan has done nothing to retain the character of the parts of Jammu and Kashmir that it controls. Its taken out the Northern Areas and made them a part of a centrally-controlled territory and then gifted parts of Jammu and Kashmir to China. Unless Pakistan is willing to admit its own failings, its not fair to demand action from our side.
Do you fear stones could turn into guns in future protests?
Guns and bombs have natural support from the other side of the Line of Control. Any country whose leadership visits Pakistan talks about terror and jihadi elements that arise from there.
There is a clear relationship between external factors and what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir. Its popular to believe its been indigenous from Pakistans point of view, but the character of what weve seen here is not indigenous at all.
Will there be a Kashmir Spring?
I cant speak for your side but this side regularly participates in elections, where they freely and fairly elect leadership they want to govern them.
What you see in the Arab world is resentment against leadership that has been there for [decades] and which they wanted to overturn. We have elections and these are a guarantee against any sort of movement.
Organizations like Human Rights Watch have assailed abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir. The discovery of mass graves with some 2,730 bodies indicates a dire situation. How do you see this?
Firstly, they are not mass graves, they are unidentified graves. When you say mass graves, you start picturing what happened in Cambodia or Nazi Germany. We have made certain moves to try and identify [what happened]. We are also setting up a commission, a reconciliation commission that follows the mandate of truth.
Manmohan Singh has said that India and Pakistan were on the verge of arriving at a solution for Kashmir during the Musharraf years. What was that solution and is it possible now?
The two people who can speak best about that are Singh and Musharraf. I do know that a lot of work had gone into that dialogue and if Musharraf had not shot himself in the foot
, so to speak, with the judiciary issue, we couldve put the [Kashmir] issue behind us.
Pakistan has awarded India most-favored-nation trading status. How will this affect commerce across the Line of Control?
Our trade is unusual. Its not trade between two countries, but two parts of a state that has been artificially divided. We have our own peculiarities. We have a positive list of the number of goods we can trade, which is not taking place on a banking relationship but on basis of barter. Unless we move from a positive list to a negative list and from barter to banking, there is no growth potential.
The Congress Party has championed greater economic integration between India and Indian-administered Kashmir. What are the steps New Delhi has taken for this?
I havent seen this championing by Congress. The government of India has been extremely supportive of the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir and its infrastructure, but theres been no chant of economic integration.
How independent is Srinagar from New Delhi?
We have far greater autonomy within the Union of India than other states enjoy. There is an ongoing debate on whether this autonomy can be increased or expanded.
Is the All Parties Hurriyat Conference a partner for peace?
I hope they recognize that any solution requires dialogue, that there are no solutions that come from the barrel of a gun. The United Jihad Council must also not play spoilers. Weve been pushing both sides, New Delhi and the APHC, to talk. At the end of the day I have to recognize [APHCs] dispute is not with me or my politicsthey dont like me or agree with my politics, and vice versabut they have to dialogue with Delhi.
Do you worry for your own safety?
Its not something I think about too often. I have a job to do and get on with it.
Your father and grandfather were important political figures of Kashmir. How is todays Indian-administered Kashmir different from theirs?
My grandfather saw its biggest transitionfrom being ruled by the Maharaja to almost independence after Aug. 15, 1947, and then saw it invaded, and then become a part of India, and then a land where he waged a struggle. My father saw it at its best and worst between 1990 and 2002. Jammu and Kashmir is very different today from what it was during the heydays of my grandfathers time, and also different from the worst days that my father saw it in. Theres always change, sometimes its for better and sometimes its for worse.
Omar Abdullah |
Abdullah, the scion of Indian-administered Kashmirs most powerful political dynasty, assumed the office of chief minister in 2009. It has been interesting times for him. During the 2010 intifada, he kept confined to his official quarters. He has also been accused of covering up human rights abuses perpetrated by Indian troops. Newsweek Pakistans Shehrbano Taseer spoke with him recently about this and more. Excerpts:
This year in Kashmir has been much calmer than the last. What do you attribute this to?
People are realizing the futility of protests and violence. The loss of lives was the most tragic, but the economic losses were huge as well. People did not want to see this anymore or live like that. Secondly, the government was far more proactive in dealing with flashpoints that arosethe techniques and tactics were more refined and nonlethal equipment was used for crowd control. The single largest factor, though, was that people really did want to give peace a chance and have a summer without disturbances.
How unique were last years protests, and what lessons have you drawn from the Kashmiri intifada?
The rural local bodies have had elections and this has been a concrete step toward empowering people. The government was more proactive in reaching out to people and engaging with them at the bureaucratic and political levels. The police have worked to change the perception of them as being at odds with the public.
Indian Kashmir is heavily militarized. Do you foresee a reduction in troops?
Weve already made a start in reducing the footprint of the security forces. The more we can consolidate peace and the more the levels of violence come down, the more we will be able to stretch the removal to other areas.
Did last years intifada vindicate Pakistans longstanding demand for a plebiscite?
Its all very well for Pakistan to demand a plebiscite while conveniently forgetting that it has not made it easy for that to be the case. It was Pakistan that invaded Kashmir in 1947 and then refused to vacate the territories. Pakistan has done nothing to retain the character of the parts of Jammu and Kashmir that it controls. Its taken out the Northern Areas and made them a part of a centrally-controlled territory and then gifted parts of Jammu and Kashmir to China. Unless Pakistan is willing to admit its own failings, its not fair to demand action from our side.
Do you fear stones could turn into guns in future protests?
Guns and bombs have natural support from the other side of the Line of Control. Any country whose leadership visits Pakistan talks about terror and jihadi elements that arise from there.
There is a clear relationship between external factors and what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir. Its popular to believe its been indigenous from Pakistans point of view, but the character of what weve seen here is not indigenous at all.Will there be a Kashmir Spring?
I cant speak for your side but this side regularly participates in elections, where they freely and fairly elect leadership they want to govern them.
What you see in the Arab world is resentment against leadership that has been there for [decades] and which they wanted to overturn. We have elections and these are a guarantee against any sort of movement.Organizations like Human Rights Watch have assailed abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir. The discovery of mass graves with some 2,730 bodies indicates a dire situation. How do you see this?
Firstly, they are not mass graves, they are unidentified graves. When you say mass graves, you start picturing what happened in Cambodia or Nazi Germany. We have made certain moves to try and identify [what happened]. We are also setting up a commission, a reconciliation commission that follows the mandate of truth.
Manmohan Singh has said that India and Pakistan were on the verge of arriving at a solution for Kashmir during the Musharraf years. What was that solution and is it possible now?
The two people who can speak best about that are Singh and Musharraf. I do know that a lot of work had gone into that dialogue and if Musharraf had not shot himself in the foot
, so to speak, with the judiciary issue, we couldve put the [Kashmir] issue behind us.Pakistan has awarded India most-favored-nation trading status. How will this affect commerce across the Line of Control?
Our trade is unusual. Its not trade between two countries, but two parts of a state that has been artificially divided. We have our own peculiarities. We have a positive list of the number of goods we can trade, which is not taking place on a banking relationship but on basis of barter. Unless we move from a positive list to a negative list and from barter to banking, there is no growth potential.
The Congress Party has championed greater economic integration between India and Indian-administered Kashmir. What are the steps New Delhi has taken for this?
I havent seen this championing by Congress. The government of India has been extremely supportive of the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir and its infrastructure, but theres been no chant of economic integration.
How independent is Srinagar from New Delhi?
We have far greater autonomy within the Union of India than other states enjoy. There is an ongoing debate on whether this autonomy can be increased or expanded.
Is the All Parties Hurriyat Conference a partner for peace?
I hope they recognize that any solution requires dialogue, that there are no solutions that come from the barrel of a gun. The United Jihad Council must also not play spoilers. Weve been pushing both sides, New Delhi and the APHC, to talk. At the end of the day I have to recognize [APHCs] dispute is not with me or my politicsthey dont like me or agree with my politics, and vice versabut they have to dialogue with Delhi.
Do you worry for your own safety?
Its not something I think about too often. I have a job to do and get on with it.
Your father and grandfather were important political figures of Kashmir. How is todays Indian-administered Kashmir different from theirs?
My grandfather saw its biggest transitionfrom being ruled by the Maharaja to almost independence after Aug. 15, 1947, and then saw it invaded, and then become a part of India, and then a land where he waged a struggle. My father saw it at its best and worst between 1990 and 2002. Jammu and Kashmir is very different today from what it was during the heydays of my grandfathers time, and also different from the worst days that my father saw it in. Theres always change, sometimes its for better and sometimes its for worse.
Omar Abdullah |
