No turning back on reconciliation

Arun Joshi in Jammu

PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti is anguished over the suicide attack in Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead on Thursday. She says she is at a loss of words and does not know what to say to the families whose young men left home to perform their duty and returned in coffins. Mehbooba is equally concerned about where Kashmir is heading.

In an interview to the Sunday Tribune, a strong votary of dialogue with Pakistan, she says that the Pulwama attack has roused tempers and talks may not be on the table immediately, however, there is no turning back from the process of reconciliation. Excerpts from an interview:

What is your take on the Pulwama attack?

It is shocking. I have no words to condemn the deadliest attack in the past 30 years. So many lives have been lost. My heart goes out to them. It has shaken us all. I do not know what to tell the families that lost their near and dear ones in this attack. They had sent them to perform their duties but they perished in the explosion and were sent back in coffins. It is very sad and haunting.

What does this attack mean for Kashmir?

All the while we have been saying that alienation is increasing. We need to plug that. It was for this purpose that the PDP and the BJP had aligned, hoping that the peace and reconciliation process, initiated by (late Prime Minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, would be resumed. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and the bridges collapsed. I am worried that now we are confronted with a new dimension of militancy where a young boy of 19-20 years (suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar) blows himself up. It is time to ponder where Kashmir is headed. This can consume the Valley. 

There are accusations that Pakistan is behind the attack.

Well, we need to rise above jingoism. We need to see things in the right perspective. Pakistan itself claims it is providing ‘moral, political and diplomatic’ support to Kashmiris. However, at the end of the day, it is a Kashmiri boy who dies. 

What is the solution to this problem?

At the moment, tempers are running high, but, we must understand that whatever is happening is not affecting Pakistan much. The price is being paid by the country and Kashmir. I am of firm belief that reconciliation is the only way out in the long run.

Has the loss of power changed anything for you?

I am what I am. Power or no power, it doesn’t affect me at all.

You have been hitting hard on Hindutva. Some of your tweets have been quite stinging. Is it because of the elections that you are overplaying the Muslim versus Hindutva card?

I am not playing any card. I am stating the facts. There is renaming of cities every day — Allahabad becomes Prayagraj, cows and their shelters become more important than the dignity of women. Women are being raped and murdered and the priority of political parties seems to be changing Muslim names to Hindu ones. This is not our ethos.

Who is to be blamed, the BJP or the Congress or both?

Not only the Congress and the BJP, but, other parties as well. While we are debating who will construct the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Pakistan is talking of protecting temples, opening the Kartarpur corridor, naming forest reserves after Guru Nanak and creating a university in his name. When I make comparisons, I do that on the basis of contrasting narratives and actions in the two countries.

J&K is headed for elections and your father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had once credited Pakistan for smooth elections. Do you think Pakistan has a role in J&K polls?

What was wrong in that? Time has proved him right. If Pakistan doesn’t play a positive role, voting percentage will not go beyond 2-3 per cent in Kashmir elections. In the 2014 polls, Pakistan did not play spoiler and we saw a respectable voting percentage. That lifted fear from the minds of the people. Pakistan can play truant and everybody knows that. I do hope that the way Pakistan PM Imran Khan is talking of peace and friendship, it plays a positive role in the elections in the interest of democracy in J&K also.

You are demanding a dialogue with Pakistan, militants and the separatists, but seem hesitant in asking them to shun violence to facilitate an atmosphere for dialogue. Why so?

First of all, let me make it clear that talking to Pakistan has been our consistent stand. The position has nothing to do with our being in power or not. When I was CM, I made repeated pleas to the Centre, particularly the PM, to talk to Pakistan. And, if you recall, during the Raman ceasefire in May-June 2018, I had told the other side to give up violence and come to the dialogue table. Unfortunately, the ceasefire was called off before our efforts could fructify.

Some leaders from your party have quit. How do you see this?

They quit the party when we ceased to be in power. They were not there for the idea of serving people. In the short term, it is a loss, but it will be a gain in the long term as new blood will take the party forward. This time, even as we are out of power, so many youth are coming forward and joining the party. This is a gain as new persons are joining us because of our ideology. People have started realising how many storms we weathered while in alliance with the BJP. I brought the ceasefire into effect, cases against first-time stone throwers were withdrawn and special status of the state was not allowed to be tinkered with.

Isn’t it ironical that you boycotted the municipal polls and called it a farce and now some of the elected corporators have joined your party?

No way. These corporators were elected and they were playing the role that they were expected to. We did not pay any money to lure them. They came on their own. More than corporators, they are individuals in their own right.

You claimed that your party will emerge as the single largest party in the upcoming polls. On what basis do you make the claim?

People have started understanding what we were up against. We served as a shield for our people.

Do you think you will be able to retain the 28 seats (won in 2014) in the ensuing elections?

Why should we restrict ourselves to 28 or 30? You will see what happens after the elections are over.

Who is going to be your chief ministerial candidate?

This is not the time to talk about that.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has declared party vice-president Omar Abdullah as their CM candidate. What is the harm in announcing that?

There might have been a debate in the NC or between Farooq sahib and Omar sahib. In our party, there is no such debate.

What is your perspective on Kashmir politics?

It is exactly what my father said. Even if the roads are made of gold and streets of silver, it will make no difference to the situation or sentiment in Kashmir. It is a political problem and it requires a political solution on the India-Pakistan and Kashmir axis. It is as simple as that.

All the while, we have been saying that alienation is increasing. We need to plug that. It was for this purpose that the PDP and the BJP had aligned, hoping that the peace and reconciliation process initiated by Vajpayee would be resumed. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and the bridges collapsed. —Mehbooba Mufti