:: Arun Nehru

Deal with J&K with an eye on Pakistan

Arun Nehru

Augest.02 : Events in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be looked at in isolation as there is more to the situation than the current political battle between the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Governance is never easy and the past six months have seen a great deal of violence in the districts of Sopore, Pulwama, Baramulla and Srinagar after the unfortunate incidents in Shopian.

J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has managed to handle the crisis well given the limitations of the situation and the violence. The PDP, on the other hand, has duly played its Opposition part, but looking at the situation across the border, things could have been different.

There was little justification for senior PDP leader Muzaffar Baig to level the "sex scandal" charge on Mr Abdullah. Mr Abdullah has a family with young children. In my opinion his reaction was correct, as he was unable to accept false accusations. Sadly, the policy of senseless confrontation continues as PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, after throwing the microphone in the Assembly, tore the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) letter that denies Mr Abdullah’s involvement in the scandal.

We have seen the stand adopted by the PDP in the Amarnath Yatra land controversy and were witness to its absurd proposal of using Pakistani currency in the Valley. In this situation, I don’t think that the NC-Congress, or for that matter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), can remain mute spectators.

We cannot ignore the situation in Pakistan where the Taliban and extreme organisations influence Pakistan’s Army and intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The threat of terrorist activity has not abated in the Valley nor in other parts of the country as terrorist organisations will continue to plot and finance insurgency.

The Pakistan government is not really in control — whether it is the investigation into the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the ISI’s terror network or the "sleeper" cells within Pakistan. We have little option but to proceed with extreme caution and use the support of the global community to exert pressure on Pakistan.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Opposition parties at the Centre must support the government of J&K in handling the current crisis. We should not forget the undercurrents that prevailed in the Valley over the past years. It took a great deal of courage, optimism, grit and determination from Farooq Abdullah and son Omar Abdullah to change things. With the extremists and their friends in Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) sidelined, the record turnout in J&K Assembly polls and the verdict clearly indicated that "things had changed".

The PDP’s attempt to gather extreme votes has not succeeded but sadly their political posture and actions have become extremely sharp and offensive, to the detriment of our national interest. We cannot allow the chaos in Pakistan to have any adverse effect in the Valley and anyone supporting "extreme" and "divisive" politics deserves to be politically isolated.

We are all aware of the imploding situation in Pakistan. We are also aware of the chaotic situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and understand the need for a "cautious" approach as we discuss matters with Pakistan. But the patience shown by the public cannot last forever, especially if Pakistan continues to issue provocative statements on 26/11.

The recent statement by Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik on Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed indicates that little action will be taken on 26/11 accused.

The joint statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in Egypt will be studied with the stance adopted by Pakistan. The current signals are far from encouraging and clearly all is not well with our assessment of the situation.

The UPA and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) may cross swords on the joint statement in parliamentary debates but the reality of the statement will be judged by Pakistan’s response to 26/11 culprits. Public opinion in India cannot be taken for granted by either the UPA or by global powers which are eager to find a solution in Pakistan to facilitate their policy in Afghanistan and Iraq. We can expect little assistance from those bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The facts of the immediate past indicate that whenever weapons have been supplied to Pakistan, they have been used against India. Has anything changed for the better in the past few months? There are media reports that the United States and the United Kingdom are talking to the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. What inference should we draw from these developments?

AIR INDIA is in the news with the inevitable bailout and now Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways may well delay the salaries of their employees. By defaulting they can avail extra credit from public sector undertakings on oil supplies.

The government cannot discriminate between the public and private sector. There is much talk of reducing expenditure but will this happen? It would be interesting to study and see the cost of bilateral agreements with foreign airlines. The benefits given to them have a heavy cost on our airlines as they usurp the market share of our domestic airlines.

We need a level-playing field and it is unfortunate that the "lobby" system continues to function, which differentiates between the public and the private sector. Also it treats individual private airlines on a different basis. All this and more will surface as there is greater transparency in the system.

Arun Nehru is a former Union minister