When Atal Behari Vajpayee visits Kashmir later this week, he will be the first Prime Minister to hold a public meeting here after a gap of 15 years. The Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government, which expects the announcement of a major political and economic package, seems to be pushing its entire weight behind the trip.Sources say Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party is planning a gathering of more than 25,000 people at the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket ground to clap for Vajpayee on April 18. The party recently held an exclusive meeting to discuss ways to make the show a hit. ‘‘The party legislators and other important leaders were briefed personally by Mufti sahib and were given specific targets to bring their supporters to Srinagar,’’ a senior party leader told The Indian Express.‘‘It is going to be a PDP show and we have made elaborate arrangements to fetch our supporters from strongholds like south Kashmir, Tangmarg and Ganderbal. Transport has been arranged and the legislators and party leaders have already fanned out,’’ he said.The party, in turn, is expecting a lot of soft talk from the PM. ‘‘It is an extremely important visit. We believe Vajpayee sahib will definitely unfold a political, as well as, economic package to boost our efforts,’’ a senior PDP leader said. ‘‘As the Centre’s new Kashmir pointman, N.N. Vohra, is likely to visit soon after the PM on April 20, we are expecting an appeal to separatist groups to join in the dialogue process. As it would come directly from the PM, it would add to the seriousness of Vohra’s talks,’’ he said.Though the ruling PDP also expects some hard talk on Pakistan, it still hopes that the dialogue bait from Vajpayee will strengthen its position in Kashmir. ‘‘The only apprehension is that the visit is taking place at a time when the Centre’s war of words with Pakistan is again hot,’’ the leader said.Apart from Srinagar, Vajpayee will also address a public meeting at Qazigund, where he is to inaugurate a railway bridge. However, the Srinagar show promises to be bigger. Nearly the entire Mufti ministry is camping here, though the darbar is yet to shift from the winter capital of Jammu.The only worry for Mufti is that any militant strike on the day might jeopardise all his efforts. Thus, the focus is also on an elaborate security drill.
