IPS news reports appear daily in English, German, Finnish, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.
To subscribe, please contact us at: Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, North America.

Violence Threatens Kashmir Cease-fire

By Ranjit Devraj

NEW DELHI, Jan 22 (IPS) - Hardening positions in the Indian and Pakistani capitals could see the end, this week, of India's Kashmir cease-fire and slow down a parallel bid to restart New Delhi-Islamabad talks on the troubled province.

Stepped up violence over the weekend by the militants, who continue to demand tripartite talks with New Delhi and Islamabad, is said to have made it difficult for the Indian government to extend the truce, announced two months ago.

Things have been made more difficult for New Delhi with Pakistan's military rulers insisting that the violence in Kashmir and resumption of India-Pakistan talks should not be linked.

''The cease-fire is no solution to the Kashmir problem unless it is accompanied by tripartite talks,'' says Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, a leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (AHPC) -- an umbrella body of some 22 Kashmiri separatist political groups.

Farooq told reporters that he would like to see Hurriyat representatives and Kashmiri militant groups sit at the same table with Indian and Pakistani leaders to sort out the half-a-century old dispute.

More than 35,000 people have been killed in secessionist violence unleashed by the militants in Kashmir in the past decade.

New Delhi accuses Islamabad of training and arming the militants, while Pakistan accuses Indian security forces of rights excesses in Kashmir.

The two nuclear weapons-armed South Asian neighbours have fought two wars over Kashmir since the former princely state joined India, soon after the subcontinent's partition by departing colonial British rulers in the year 1947. Pakistan administers a third of Kashmir.

However, it was New Delhi's rejection of this demand that ended a short-lived, unilateral truce offered by a main militant group -- the Hizbul Mujaideen -- in July last year.

First-time talks between the militants and Indian government negotiators begun after that cease-fire, were aborted when the separatists suddenly insisted on this condition, with Islamabad's backing.

Though Islamabad has since indicated that it is willing to drop its insistence on a tripartite discussion, New Delhi insists that bilateral talks cannot be held till Pakistan stops encouraging the militants.

During a mid-January meeting with Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf, India's High Commissioner in Islamabad failed to get an assurance that the militants would be reined in, say Indian foreign ministry officials here. The Indian prime minister, who began the new year declaring that New Delhi was ready to explore new ways to solve the Kashmir issue, said after this that there could be no talks with Pakistan as long as ''the guns of terrorists do the talking.'' However, Islamabad denies that it has any control over the Kashmiri militant groups, several of which are based in Pakistan- administered Kashmir.

Meanwhile, India's outspoken Defence Minister George Fernandes said India would ''wait and watch'' until Jan. 26 -- India's Republic Day and the day the cease-fire completes two months -- for a positive response from Pakistan, before deciding to extend the cease-fire.

The cease-fire was announced by Vajpayee with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan during November-December 2000 and was extended by another month in December.

However, even while Indian security forces stopped 'engaging' militants in Kashmir, there was no let up in the violence.

Attacks by militants during the cease-fire included an attempt earlier this month, to storm the airport in Srinagar -- the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state. There was also an assassination attempt on the state's Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.

On Sunday, militants lobbed grenades on a security post in Srinagar, killing a policeman and two civilians. Six more people were killed near Tapper, 30 km south of Srinagar, when a bus went over a landmine believed to have been planted by the militants.

On Saturday, four more people were killed elsewhere in the state by the militants, according to news reports.

India's junior Home Minister I.D. Swami reacted by saying that the incidents would have a bearing on the government's review of the cease-fire.

However, Kashmiri separatist groups blame the violence on 'panchayat' (village council) polls that are being held in the state for the first time in 23 years.

Threats by the militants have failed to keep voters indoors and according to official estimates, 80 percent of voters have come out to choose their local representatives.

State chief minister Abdullah is one of the critics of the cease-fire and is pressing for its withdrawal because it has made it easier for the militant groups to eliminate members of his National Conference party, besides attacking security personnel.

Another hurdle to the Kashmir peace bid has been put by the Indian government's reluctance to allow pro-Pakistan members of the Hurriyat to travel to Pakistan.

In keeping with Vajpayee's New Year declaration to ''explore'' new ways to tackle the Kashmir issue, New Delhi has for the first time allowed the Hurriyat leader to travel to Pakistan.

The Hurriyat representatives are to meet leaders of Kashmiri militant groups who are based in Pakistan and also Pakistan's military ruler.

But home minister Advani has refused travel permission to two Hurriyat leaders who advocate Kashmir's merger with Pakistan.

In a press statement, the Hurriyat has accused ''hardliners within the government'' of trying to ''derail the peace process initiated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.'' The statement said the Hurriyat had proposed a visit to Pakistan because of its ''commitment to the resolution of the Kashmir issue and and restoration of peace.'' ''The visit is aimed at consultation with the government of Pakistan, the Mujahideen and the leadership of Azad Kashmir (Pakistan administered Kashmir),'' said Hurriyat leader Farooq.

Hurriyat chairperson, Abdul Ghani Bhat warned that if the peace process gets derailed, ''a dangerous situation may develop and engulf the whole of South Asia.'' (END/IPS/ap-ip/rdr/mu/01) = 01221833 MNL001

| mail | about us | faq |

| No Frames Home Page |

IPS Inter-Press Service, the world´s leading provider of information on global issues, is backed by a network of journalist in more than 100 countries, with satellite communication links to 1,200 outlets.