Hurriyat: We will take part in polls if

Govt should discuss J&K with new Assembly; keep EC out’ n Habibullah says step in right direction

Arati R. Jerath

New Delhi, February 7: Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Maulvi Omar Farooq today indicated the conglomerate’s willingness to participate in this year’s state elections if the Government gave an assurance that it would discuss the future status of Jammu and Kashmir with the members of the new assembly.

Laying down conditions for the Hurriyat’s entry into the fray, he said that the organisation also wanted a commitment on the ‘‘neutrality’’ of the poll process. He said ‘‘an impartial body’’ should supervise the elections, not the Election Commission of India.

The Mirwaiz’s remarks signal a softening by the Hurriyat on the vexed question of elections. At least that’s how government circles here see them. The unofficial interlocutor with the Hurriyat, Wajahat Habibullah, told The Indian Express, ‘‘It’s a step in the right direction. For the first time, the Hurriyat is talking about taking part in elections.’’

Official sources indicated that the Government could consider the first condition set by the Mirwaiz. The second one is more tricky but the sources said these were ‘‘matters of detail’’ which could be discussed provided the Hurriyat is willing to come forward.

The Mirwaiz emphasised that the Government should re-define the purpose of the elections so that the core issue of Kashmir can be addressed. ‘‘The purpose should be to elect a group of representatives who will sit down and resolve the issue with India and Pakistan. If our concerns are met, if the Government of India says it will talk to the next assembly about the dispute (over the status of Kashmir), we have no problems in taking part in the elections,’’ he told The Indian Express.

Farooq also stressed that the same conditions apply to the Government of Pakistan. ‘‘We are not talking just about Indian-controlled Kashmir but also about the part that is under Pakistan’s control. We want to know the status of the other part of Kashmir. We need a commitment from both India and Pakistan,’’ he asserted.

Having put the onus for its participation in the elections on the Centre, the Hurriyat meanwhile is trying to drum up support for its ‘‘alternative proposal’’ to kickstart negotiations on the Kashmir dispute. The plan envisages the setting up of an ‘‘independent Election Commission’’ which will oversee the process of choosing a group of people to sit across the table with India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute. In other words, an election to give faces to the third side of the trilateral dialogue being advocated between India, Pakistan and the representatives of the Kashmiri people.

In fact, Farooq is here to lobby with western diplomats on this idea. He said he has also been in touch with people who the Hurriyat would want to nominate to this Election Commission, people he refused to name but described as ‘‘impartial and with a clean image’’.

He said the Hurriyat has discussed the idea with other political leaders in Kashmir like Shabir Shah and would send delegations to talk to mainstream parties like the National Conference, Congress and BJP. The plan is to nominate public figures from Pakistan and India to the EC. The Commission’s task would be to conduct an election in four stages, first in the Valley, then in Jammu, next in Ladakh and finally in POK. Those elected will be entrusted with the duty of representing the people of the undivided state at the negotiating table with India and Pakistan. When questioned about the logisitics of conducting an election, Farooq admitted that ‘‘it’s a huge project’’. He said the idea was still in the initial stages but if other political parties agree, it would make the task easier. He said it would take till the end of the year to implement.