High on hope, then a few disappoinments

about Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Kashmir. Ahead of the Beehama chowk where a dozen buses are lined up to collect villagers for the rally, Dar gets down to talk to a young man he knows very well. Their conversation veers around the PM’s visit to the Valley. Dar says he expects lot of interesting announcements the PM, who is ‘‘caring, a gentleman and unscrupulously honest and sincere’’.

‘‘You see he will be as good as (Atal Behari) Vajpayee. He will come up with jobs for the berozgar (unemployed), money for laying roads and azaadi of minds,’’ he tells his seemingly uninterested friend.

Initially a diehard supporter of the Kashmir’s aazadi, Dar’s ‘‘fling’’ with the ruling People’s Democratic Party in the 2002 Assembly elections blossomed into a ‘‘permanent romance’’, after he got a Class IV job in a government office. Unemployed for years, the job changed his ideological preferences. ‘‘I have realised that all of us are fighting a war for the aazadi of thought, decent education, good food and a nice upbringing,’’ he said, even as a group of villagers collected to listen to him. Minutes later as the two board the bus again, Dar tells his friends seated on the back seat that their woes would be over. ‘‘The Prime Minister is unveiling a slew of special employment schemes, farming incentives and tourism and horticultural promotional avenues,’’ he said. ‘‘He is going to promise a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue. Our Chief Minister has been persuading him to do so. There is talk of troops moving out of residential areas,’’ he said.

And when the bus pulled up near the Residency Road, Dar, his friend and the passengers got down and walked to the stadium, where they were frisked by securitymen. ‘‘There was some attack nearby and that is why they are extra-cautious. The Prime Minister will delay his speech,’’ he said.

Later, during the PM’s speech from behind a bullet-proof screen, Dar’s face lit up when the PM said he would talk unconditionally to everyone who would abjure violence. He was also happy with the Rs 24,000 crore package for the state and the talk of better relations with Pakistan and accelerating the opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.

But there were disappointments —— no reference on the issue of Hurriyat visit to Pakistan, a condition set to resume Centre-separatist dialogue, or to Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf’s recent proposal on Kashmir or regarding assurances on better human rights.

‘‘Kashmir would have been celebrating had the Prime Minister mentioned these things. I fail to understand how he would ensure peace with dignity for Kashmiris,’’ he added. His friend could only nod in agreement.

Building J-K can’t wait for talks to end: PM
		• Open to talks: We will talk to all those who have concern for Kashmiris. My doors are open, I have no conditions but their intention should be genuine • More troop cuts: If conditions improve, if incidence of infiltration and violence remain under control, it will make it easier for me to seek further reduction of troops • Reconstruction first: Task of reconstructing Kashmir can’t wait for dialogue’s satisfactory conclusion. We can’t afford this luxury. The challenge is to begin peace building now • Pak must do its bit: Territories under its (Pak) control shouldn’t be used to promote cross-border terrorism. We are working with Pak to see an end to violence in J&K • No redrawing borders: I have made it clear to Musharraf that any redrawing of the international border is not acceptable to us. Any proposal which smacks of further division is not acceptable