NEW DELHI: Central information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, the Indian government’s pointperson for Kashmir, was present at a closed-door meeting organised by the US embassy with Kashmiri leaders, including All-Parties Hurriyat Conference chairperson Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on self-governance for Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting, held for Dan Burton and a group of visiting US Congressmen, also discussed the issue of demilitarisation.

The meeting, which was confined to just a few leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, including Mr Habibullah, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and the Mirwaiz. People’s Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti was invited but did not attend. Social activist Madhu Kishwar was present. The US Congressmen were interested in eliciting responses on Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s proposal for “self-governance” which closely resembles the proposal recently forwarded by the US-based Kashmir Study Group.

The proposal is for Azad Kashmir and occupied Kashmir to be divided into regions, each to be demilitarised and then allowed self-governance with its own flag, constitution and elected representatives.

The US Congressmen made it clear that their primary interest during this visit to India, and later Pakistan, was to seek a resolution of the Kashmir issue. They met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late on Monday night after the closed-door meeting with the Kashmiri leaders. The Indian government continues to officially insist that it has not received any proposal on self-governance although the APHC recently held a long meeting on self-governance and came out in full support of this as well as demilitarisation. In fact, the Mirwaiz said at Monday evening’s meeting that demilitarisation would be a major first step and maintained that this would not increase terrorism in the state.

Mr Omar Abdullah pulled out his party’s old autonomy report, pointing out the similarities between this and the self-governance proposal. He said that the government had shown no interest in this report at all despite some promises to discuss it.

The Mirwaiz also said that after the September meeting with the government, there had been no follow-up action, with New Delhi refusing to release political prisoners.

The impression after the meeting was that the US Congressmen had been fully briefed about the government’s reluctance to proceed towards a resolution of the Kashmir issue, and that most of the political parties in the Valley were totally supportive of the Musharraf-KSG proposal.

The US Congressmen reportedly assured the Kashmiri leaders that they would raise the issue of their greater participation in talks at their meeting with the Prime Minister. Ms Mehbooba Mufti stayed away, as she usually does from meetings convened by foreign diplomats. She has also refused invitations to visit the United States and some other countries, preferring to keep her demands within national parameters. She has been supportive of more autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, and has spoken several times in favour of demilitarisation. It is not clear, however, whether she supports the idea of self-governance and the division of Jammu and Kashmir into separate entities. Sources here apprehend strong pressure now from the West on self-governance, with Pakistan keeping the spotlight on this particular issue.

The Pakistan foreign office has now claimed that the proposal has the full backing of the Kashmiri leadership on both sides of the Line of Control. The Pakistani argument, although not stated in so many words, is that the self-governance proposal has the support of Kashmiris and Pakistan, and it is now for New Delhi to fall in line.

Mr Burton opened the meeting with a few remarks asking for suggestions on what could be done to resolve the Kashmir issue and bring peace to the region. Mr Burton, incidentally, is well known in official circles as a strong critic of India’s position on Jammu and Kashmir, having participated in conventions and meetings on alleged human rights violations in the state.

He had earlier also taken an active and keen interest in the idea of “Khalistan,” supporting Sikh groups demanding a separate state.—By special arrangement with the Asianage