SYED ALI SAFVI
SRINAGAR, June 6: Prime minister, Dr Manmohan Sigh will arrive here on a two-day visit tomorrow, amid a shutdown call by Hurriyat Conference (G), endorsed by Dukhtaran-e Millat head, Asiya Andrabi, and JKLF (R).
According to official sources, during his visit, Dr Singh is likely to extend fresh offer for talks to separatists. He will also review the progress on recommendations of five working groups, constituted after first Round Table conference, besides addressing convocation function of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) here.
According to sources, after arriving here, Singh, who will be accompanied bu union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, Farooq Abdullah, and Prithviraj Chavan, will straight away drive to Technical Airport. After having lunch, he will proceed to SKUAST where he will address the convocation. Governor NN Vohra, who is also the university's chancellor, had invited Singh to the event.
After attending SKUAST convocation, Singh will leave for Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), where he is scheduled to meet leaders of mainstream political parties and delegations of Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs. He will also hold one-to-one meeting with chief minister, Omar Abdullah, to review the progress on various development schemes and deliberate upon growing number of human rights violations in the state.
Meanwhile, chairman Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Geelani has called for complete shutdown to protest Singh’s Kashmir visit. Geelani’s strike call was also endorsed by president Dukhtaran-e Millat, Asiya Andrabi and JKLF (R). Surprisingly, Hurriyat Conference (M) and JKLF chairman, Yasin Malik has preferred to remain tight lipped. They have neither extended separate strike call nor endorsed Geelani’s call.
Tight security arrangements have been made for PM’s second visit to Kashmir after he got a second term last May.
Amid growing resentment against central and state governments and in wake of Hurriyat Conference (M) refusal to join talks following Machil exposé, the prime minister is likely to extend fresh offer to hold talks with separatists.
According to sources, Dr Sigh will hold consultations with leaders of various mainstream political parties over the progress on recommendations made during the two sessions of the Round Table Conference.
According to reports, during their meeting with the PM, leaders of ruling National Conference is likely to seek early talks on providing greater autonomy in the state as recommended by Sagir Ahmed Committee set up by the Prime Minister himself.
Pertinently, chairman Hurriyat Conference (M), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, had initially welcomed Dr Sigh’s Kashmir visit. He had also expressed willingness to be a part of dialogue process, provided New Delhi accepted his parties’ four conditions viz, phased troop withdrawal, revocation of AFSPA, release of political prisoners, and end to human rights violations.
“We welcome the visit of prime minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh to Kashmir. I hope that Dr Singh will come with sincere heart and will also come with a comprehensive political programme so that the dialogue process would resume for peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue,” he had said.
To make the anticipated dialogue process meaningful and result-oriented, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had asked Hurriyat Conference (M) to come up with concrete proposal for talks.
CPI-M state secretary, M Yusuf Tarigami, had also appealed all parties to come forward and join the talks.
However, the high expectations and hope proved to be short lived. Following Machil exposé, things started to take ugly turn. The Machil fake encounter had again brought into focus Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), with separatists and political leaders of all hues advocating that the draconian AFSPA law be revoked as it contains reprehensible provisions, including "licence to kill".
Hardening his stand in wake of Machil exposé, Mirwaiz ruled out talks with New Delhi saying "dialogue and killings cannot go together".
"How can we hold talks when youths are being butchered?" he had said, referring to Machil ‘fake encounter. “Talks and killing of youths cannot go together."
No comments:
Post a Comment