New Delhi : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday wrote an emotional appeal to all separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah and Bilal Gani Lone, not as the CM but as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president to speak to the all-party delegation of Parliamentarians, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, visiting Srinagar on Sunday.
“This will be the start of a credible and meaningful political dialogue and resolution process to end the stalemate….All of us are deeply concerned, albeit in our own way, about the existing situation in the Valley,” she wrote, pointing out that cutting across party lines and political positions, the country”s political leadership has reached out and it is for us to collectively lend it credence and credibility.”
In her letter, Mehbooba said: “Notwithstanding the fact that you and I have different and divergent political ideologies, I have no doubt that all of us have the best interest of the people of J&K in mind.
True, our politics and programmes are at variance with each other, but our concerns for our people and society in general, and the future of our youth in particular, should not be any different.
“To convert our conviction and commitment of a peaceful and prosperous J&K into reality, it is important that you share your thoughts and beliefs with this distinguished group who represent the people of India and not only the Government of India.”
Her appeal came in the wake of hardliner Geelani and some other separatists announcing that no purpose would be served by meeting the all-party delegation as many such meetings over the years yielded no result. Her appeal was indirectly addressed to Geelani as she said: “My party has always believed that the Hurriyat Conference is a stakeholder in the peace, resolution and prosperity of the state. Indeed, right in the beginning in our Party”s founding declaration we stood for dialogue with all stakeholders as the only way forward.”
Mehbooba pointed out that the cornerstone of the common minimum programme of her PDP”s alliance with Congress was dialogue with parties of all ideological hues, followed with rather an unconditional dialogue under the leadership of the then Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee and reiterated in its manifesto in both Parliamentary and Assembly manifestos to seek “resolution of the issue taking Hurriyat Conference on board.”
Even in the ”Agenda of Alliance” for forming the government with the BJP, it was made clear that the state government “will create conditions to facilitate resolution of all issues and will help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all the stakeholders, including all political groups in J&K irrespective of their ideological views and predilections to build a broad based consensus on resolution of all outstanding issues of J&K,” she said.
