An all-party meeting on Kashmir planned here by two British lawmakers may turn out to be one with hardly any party participating.
The meeting called for May 29 by two Members of Parliament (MPs) is going ahead, Zafar Khan from a faction of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) said. But given the absentees it is not clear who will be meeting whom.
The meeting is being promoted by Lord Avebury, member of the House of Lords from the Liberal Democrats party, and Roger Godsiff, member of the House of Commons from the ruling Labour party. This is not their first attempt to hold such a meeting, but it could be the last.
This is the fourth and probably the last attempt by the All Party Kashmir Group and Lord Aveburys Parliamentary Human Rights Group to organise a dialogue between Kashmiris on both sides of the line of control, Godsiff said in a letter to the leader of a London-based Kashmir group.
The last attempt to hold such a meeting in October 1997 came to nothing because few participants agreed to come. With a similar situation arising now, Avebury and Godsiff have indicated they might give up even talking about a meeting. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in New Delhi has not even responded to an invitation to send a representative. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has declined the invitation. Not even all leaders from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) are keen on the meeting.
There has been an unexpectedly cool response even from the Pakistani side. Neither Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League nor the Pakistan Peoples Party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto have been keen on this meeting.
In part that is because of the aim of the meeting, which Godsiff has described as in particular the question of Kashmiri participation in future discussions with India and Pakistan.
The Pakistanis are not keen because the organisers sent invitations also to leaders from Gilgit and Baltistan which are under Pakistani control. Islamabad has in the past refused permission to leaders from Gilgit to travel abroad.
A London-based Kashmiri leader said, The Pakistan government has serious apprehensions that such a meeting could bring attention to the Gilgit and Baltistan areas which not many people seem to know about.
The meeting, or gathering as Godsiff said he prefers to have it called, has an ambitious aim: a general summary of discussions to be presented at the end along with publication of any conclusions reached. Most of the invitees do not believe any agreement or conclusion is possible at such a meeting, the Kashmiri leader said.
Godsiff and Avebury claim neutrality, but both have been active supporters of Kashmiri separatist lobbies for years. Godsiff has said such a meeting could be a realistic opportunity for constructive dialogue. But his assertion that this is probably the last attempt to organise such a gathering is some indication that the organisers do not believe they can succeed. Godsiff says that at the proposed meeting both myself and Lord Avebury will only be present as observers if the participants wish us to attend.
