Hurriyat’s parallel diplomacy in US

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Opponents of the BJP here point out the decision was politically `incorrect’ as it came at a time when not only Vajpayee was on a sojourn to that country but also when the Kashmir issue was back into focus following the nuclear tests by the two hostile neighbours earlier this year.

Senior Cabinet member in Farooq Abdullah Government Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari — a Congressman — has lambasted the Vajpayee Government for its goof up on theissue. “By this decision, we are handing over a political initiative to Pakistan on a platter,” he had said recently at Srinagar.

And with all political parties including the National Conference (NC) criticising the Vajpayee Government over the issue, it is the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP which has yet again been caught in a Catch-22 situation. The party leaders here have maintained a stoic silence over the issue as the decision has come from none else than the BJP itself.

“It has put us in an embarrassing situation. In the past we (State unit) have been vehemently opposing the visits of secessionist leaders to foreign countries for anti-India activities. And now it is our own Government which has allowed Umar to go to United States and attend functions organised by Pakistani Premier,” a senior BJP leader said.

The controversy has struck the BJP State unit at a time when it is being criticised by political parties over its silence on the acceptance of NC support by the party high command (BJPcampaign in Jammu region relied heavily on NC bashing).

Some leaders have gone to the extent of claiming a nexus between the BJP and Hurriyat leaders. “Allowing Umar to visit a foreign country clearly indicates that the BJP is trying to appease the Hurriyat leaders. There definitely is a nexus between the two,” says former MP and senior NC leader Janak Raj Gupta.

What has fuelled a strong resentment in the NC over the issue are the fears that the BJP was trying to look out for other political alternatives in J&K other than the NC. “What we fear is that the party by appeasing the Hurriyat leaders is trying to ensure that they have another political option available other than the NC in the State,” a senior NC leader commented.

Political observers here point out that the decision is continuation of the `baffling’ foreign policy of the BJP Government which was inherently contradictory. “I am foxed by the foreign policy of the BJP Government. There are lot of contradictions in their policy,” sayscolumnist Balraj Puri.

Leaders feel that on the Kashmir issue, more than Vajpayee it was Umar who had managed to carry out a successful campaign to muster enough support for the plebiscite `cause’ of the Kashmiris. “He has met not only Sharief but various other world leaders including those from the Islamic countries. By all standards it has been Umar’s victory,” an NC leader claimed.