Politics

What Farooq Abdullah said in December 2023 was what others said in May 2013

Farooq Abdullah warned Kashmir would become Gaza if PM Modi rejected Nawaz Sharif’s offer of dialogue on bilateral issues, including J&K

Hari Om

December 27, 2023

Farooq Abdullah warned Kashmir would become Gaza if PM Modi rejected Nawaz Sharif’s offer of dialogue on bilateral issues, including J&K

Threat to PM Modi

Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) chief minister and president of the Kashmir-based essentially sectarian and separatist National Conference (NC), Farooq Abdullah, once again threatened New Delhi. He threatened that Kashmir would become Gaza in case Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi rejected Mian Nawaz Sharif’s offer of dialogue on bilateral issues between the two nations, including J&K.

“There is a statement of (PM Narendra) Modi ji that war is not an option now…We have to resolve issues through dialogue now. Where is that dialogue?… Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif is going to become the neighbouring country’s PM again. ‘He is shouting that they (Pakistan) will talk’. ‘What is the reason that we are not ready’ to talk?…‘If we don’t resolve this (Kashmir issue) through dialogue, then I am sorry to say that our fate will be similar to what is happening in Gaza and Palestine’, which are being bombarded by Israel,” the out-on-the-limb Farooq Abdullah, on December 26, said in Srinagar.

Promoting Pakistani sinister agenda

There was nothing new in what he said about (the problem in) Kashmir, PM Modi, Nawaz Sharief, and Pakistan. He and others of his ilk in Kashmir have all through threatened and emotionally blackmailed New Delhi and created serious problems for the nation in the Valley and Muslim-majority areas in Jammu province and Ladakh. Their stated objective all along has been a dispensation that drives J&K away from Bharat, which accommodates the aggressor Pakistan’s geo-political, economic, and religious interests in this part of Bharat, and that ultimately leads to the balkanization of Bharat. They have always shamelessly maintained, and continue to maintain, that J&K is a “Muslim-majority” region and it must be treated as such.

The short point is that the religio-political leadership in Kashmir consistently despised the presence of Bharat in the Valley. That was the reason it, in collaboration with the powers-that-be in the South and North Blocks, rid Kashmir of all Hindus, all Dogras, and almost all Punjabis in 1990 and left no stone unturned to replicate Kashmir in Jammu and Ladakh to achieve their stated objective.

PM Modi’s splendid contribution

It is a different matter that things for them worsened after June 2018, when PM Modi removed CM Mehbooba Mufti from the Civil Secretariat in a most dramatic manner to send a clear message that Bharat had changed and that the South and North Blocks would not tolerate anything non-sense. The 2018 action had created an impression that the PM and his Home Minister Amit Shah would integrate J&K fully into Bharat and it did happen on August 5-6, 2019 with the abrogation of J&K’s special status and abrogation of J&K’s Constitution. That was the PM’s most splendid contribution to Bharat – a fact which was appreciated unanimously by Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud-headed five-judge constitutional bench on December 11, 2023.

Obviously, the actions of 2018, 2019, and 2023 have upset the applecart of the religio-political leadership in Kashmir, Pakistan, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), and even China. The result has been that frustration, desperation, and a streak of defeatism have gripped all separatist establishments in Kashmir, including Farooq Abdullah’s Gupkar.

Religio-political leadership in Kashmir and Sharif

It’s not the first time that Farooq Abdullah and his NC threw all their eggs in the basket of Mian Nawaz Sharif. They and others of their ilk in Kashmir had done so on May 12, 2013 as well. That the NC, the PDP, and similar other outfits are the two sides of one and the same coin could be seen from what they said on the victory of Mian Nawaz Sharif in May 2013.

“Today (May 12, 2013) is an important day for the people of J&K as the elections were held in Pakistan and Mian Nawaz Sharif is emerging as victorious. I from this stage at Trikulbal Pattan (Kashmir) congratulate Mian Sahib on behalf of the people of J&K, my government, and myself and hope that he will carry forward the process of restoring peace and friendship with India and work for resolving K-issue. I urge Sharif to move ahead once again on the important issue (of Kashmir) positively by picking up the threads from where they had been left (in 1999),” said the then CM Omar Abdullah.

“Nawaz Sharif has been one of the architects of composite dialogue between the two neighbouring countries and his return to power has raised hopes of an earnest and sincere follow-up to the initial progress made on it. The lack of progress on the Kashmir resolution had partly been attributed to instability in Pakistan but with the arrival in office of a new government to be led by a known votary for good relations could transform the situation and the two countries need to capitalize on it,” said PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Not only the NC and the PDP leaders, but other Kashmir-based leaders, including Congress leaders, were also jubilant over the victory of Mian Nawaz Sharif. “The direct result of the Pakistan elections will be the country’s friendly relations with India. Our experience is that Nawaz Sharif wants settlement of issues (read Kashmir, Siachen, and Indus waters) bilaterally through dialogue and discussions,” said the then JKPCC president Saif-ud-Din Soz.

“There is a huge responsibility on the heads of India and Pakistan to bring out the Kashmir issue from the cold storage and work towards its permanent settlement,” said CPI-M secretary M Y, Tarigami.

“Now that Nawaz Sharif has won, we hope he won’t take Kashmiris for granted and instead give Kashmir a top priority vis-à-vis its resolution,” said independent MLA Er Rasheed (presently in Tihar).

“Sharif has a very positive record on Kashmir and he would certainly engage with New Delhi for finding a resolution of the Kashmir dispute,” said People’s Conference chairman separatist Sajad Gani Lone.

“Sharif should continue moral and diplomatic support to innocent Kashmiri people. Pakistan should use its influence to build pressure on India to implement UN resolutions on Kashmir which guarantees the right to self-determination for the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” said Tehrik-e-Hurriyat (TeH) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

“Nawaz Sharif is a visionary leader and has loads of knowledge. We met him in December 2012 and he assured us that if his party would be voted to power, he would work towards formulating a mechanism where Kashmiris will have a say in finding an amicable solution to the issue. We hope there will be a forward movement in that direction,” said All-Party Hurriyat Conference-M chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

“I hope the new government in Pakistan will not put the Kashmir issue on backburner and work for its resolution on a priority basis…Kashmiris are hopeful that Sharif will try institutionalizing negotiations with India. I hope he will ensure the active involvement of the people of Jammu and Kashmir (read Kashmiri leadership) as the principal party in the process of negotiations and also will try to evolve a consensus on Kashmir between various political and religious parties of Pakistan… Sharif belongs to a Kashmiri family and because of the relation, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have high expectations from him that he would keep the sacrifices, struggle, wishes, and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in view and will work for the resolution of this vexed issue,” said Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik (currently in Tihar).

“We congratulate Nawaz Sharif for his victory. He is a known figure and doesn’t need any introduction…No doubt there are many issues between India and Pakistan like Sir Creek, Siachen, and water, but Kashmir has been the core issue. We want to convey to Sharif that Kashmiri resistance leaders haven’t closed the doors of talks but time is witness that bilateralism has failed in the past. We hope Pakistan would plead the cause of Kashmiris keeping in view the UN resolutions on tri-partite talks,” said Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah (currently in Tihar).

“Under the leadership of Sharif, the new regime won’t let the people of Kashmir down and put in their best to resolve the vexed Kashmir issue. The fact remains that Pakistan is a basic party to the dispute. Given this, the country should work towards addressing the core issue of Kashmir,” J&K Liberation Front-H chairman Javaid Ahmad said.

“The people of Kashmir have a firm belief that under the leadership of Sharif, the pressure would be built on India and the international community towards the settlement of the Kashmir issue,” said J&K Peoples League chairman Mukhtar Ahmad Waza.

“Pakistan should invest its time to establish the disputed nature of Kashmir and then work towards its settlement as well. Without the resolution of this issue, peace can’t prevail in South Asia,” said Democratic Political Movement (DPM) chairman Firdous Ahmed Shah.

The ridiculous and outrageous statements of so-called “mainstream” and separatist leaders indicated several things. One, the victory of Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the elections to the Pakistan National Assembly after over thirteen years of General Pervez Musharraf’s and Pakistan People’s Party’s rule, was taken by Kashmiri leaders of all hues to mean the return of hope. In other words, they declared Kashmir to be on the threshold of a new era. To be more precise, Farooq Abdullah said what others of his ilk in Kashmir said way back on May 12, 2013.

Hope

There is no doubt whatsoever that PM Modi would further hasten the process he started in June 2018 to stem the rot in Kashmir. At the same time, it is hoped that his government would convert Kashmir into a Chandigarh-type UT and take cognizance of the woes and pain of the people of Jammu province and hand down to them a dispensation that is of them, by them and for them. And, it’s possible only through statehood.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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