Moderate on the firing line

BACKSTAGE

The Hurriyat has never been New Delhi's favourite political organisation but, for the first time in more than 10 years, New Delhi is embarking on a political dialogue with Hurriyat overlooking its many transgressions "" attending meetings of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and meeting visiting Pakistani ministers and high commissioners openly, to cite just two.

The man North Block is putting its faith in is Moulvi Abbas Ansari, the moderate Shia cleric who wants "Kashmiriyat" to be recognised and wants azaadi from both India and Pakistan.

Ansari is part of that faction of the Hurriyat that, along with Moulvi Farooq and Abdul Gani Butt, believes in dialogue with India and thinks that "normalisation" of Kashmir is as important as the "resolution" of the issue.

South Block has met Ansari more than halfway to let Kashmiris know their plaint is being heard "" in an unprecedented move, not only has the home minister met disaffected leaders but they have also paid a courtesy call on the prime minister.

India seems to have declared that it has every intention of heeding General Pervez Musharraf's demand made just the other day "" that not only Pakistan, but India, too, must show flexibility on Kashmir.

The Hurriyat has its problems. It is split badly and unless the leadership recognises that everyone is equally important, its credibility in Kashmir will become suspect.

Moulvi Abbas Ansari, who has studied in Iraq and is a respected Shia scholar, therefore, needs diplomatic skills in dealing not just with India but also in dealing with other groups in the Hurriyat that have so far not been invited to talks with the government of India "" like Yasin Malik's JKLF and Shabbir Shah's Democratic Freedom Party.

Statements made by Moulvi Ansari after he was elected Hurriyat chief in July 2003 explain why the government of India is vesting such faith in him. Ansari opposes US mediation to get Kashmir.

"I am dead against mediation by the United States between India and Pakistan in getting the issue of Kashmir resolved," Ansari told reporters soon after he was elected, although he did try to get Iran into the mediation picture.

Although in the past Hurriyat leaders have urged for US mediation, Ansari said he did not support this because it would show that India and Pakistan were "impotent" and unable to resolve issues on their own.

He also said, in a statement that was calculated to soften India, that India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris could resolve the issue without the help of outsiders.

"India and Pakistan basically belong to the same soil. It would be wiser if the two countries display maturity and resolve the Kashmir problem on the dialogue table without third-party intervention, " he said.

Ansari proved he is a diplomat by adding that the involvement of the elected representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir was inevitable as no solution would be durable without taking into consideration their wishes and aspirations.

So he has signalled that the co-option into the dialogue process of the government led by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will only help the process.

It is the people-to-people measures offered by India that can win over the Hurriyat and strengthen its position in advocating negotiation. Moulvi Abbas Ansari has one wish: that a road from Srinagar be opened to Pakistan quickly.

"Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) are craving to meet each other. When India and Pakistan can resume the New Delhi-Lahore bus service, there is no harm in reopening the Uri-Rawalpindi road," Ansari said after he became Hurriyat chief.

His extended family lives across the LoC in Pakistan. In order to demonstrate its sincerity, India needs to open the road.

On the other hand, it pays to keep your powder dry. Right now, with infiltration and violence at their lowest-ever levels in Kashmir, it is not difficult for India to talk to the Hurriyat leaders.

But when another Chhitisinghpora and Kaluchak happen, then what? That could be the test of maturity of all three "" the Moulvi, the government of India and the Hurriyat conference.