Dialogue at last!

The political atmosphere in Pakistan, India and Kashmir is abuzz with rumours about resumption of talks on Kashmir. It is being surmised that the process may kick-start with initiation of dialogue between New Delhi, All Parties Hurriyet Conference and various other parties and groups in occupied Kashmir.

There is no denying the fact that dialogue is the only practical medium for ironing out differences, reaching conclusions and findings permanent solution to the contentious issues.

Informed sources have indicated that behind the scene talks are already taking place, the contents of which can not be divulged at this stage.

Be that as it may the ultimate result of the talks will emerge after all the three stakeholders i.e. Pakistan, India and genuine Kashmiri leaders are involved in the parleys. There have been umpteen rounds of talks between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue since the partition of the subcontinent but nothing tangible emerged. To begin with Liaquat Ali Khan and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru held bilateral talks in which the Kashmir problem figured prominently. Another important round of talks was held between General Ayub Khan and Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkant. There have been other high level contacts between the two countries when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Indra Gandhi met in Shimla followed by meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lahore and between General Pervez Musharraf and Vajpayee in the Indian city of Agra. All bilateral talks were at the apex level, which proved abortive for the simple reason that the main stakeholder to the Kashmir dispute i.e. Kashmiris were ignored every time and were not included in the dialogue process at any stage. Had they been associated in the process the results would have been different. Meanwhile, Indian intransigence and the tendency of sticking to its traditional stand on the dispute was another insurmountable hurdle to cross. India never showed sincerity and preferred perpetuation of its stranglehold over the disputed territory to anything else. But development in the recent past goes to prove that traditional stand in the matter will have to be shunned to reach an acceptable solution. India's occupation of Kashmir is illegal and the people of Kashmir have never accepted India's hegemonistic   tendencies. They want liberation from foreign yoke and live as free people. It is imperative that talks between the three parties should be time bound and a time frame will have to be determined in which the discussions should end with positive results. It is also noteworthy that the Kashmiri people must have the freedom to express their opinions independently. Even the press and media in occupied Kashmir is not free and they are constantly harassed and hounded by the Indian forces for projecting the grievances of the suffering people. The freedom of speech is everybody's basic right but it has been denied to the people of the occupied territory, which is the worst type of violation of human rights. To make the talks result oriented India will have to show sincerity and not see them as a tool for buying time or an instrument for sweeping the issue under the carpet. Experience of the past tells that India showed an inclination for holding talks under international pressure, which it is doing now, but later reneged from its promises and declaring that Kashmir was its inalienable part. This obdurate policy needs to be cured and the international community and the United Nations have a moral responsibility to keep the new round of talks between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris on the track and exert pressure on India to come forward to help resolve the lingering dispute in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir.