Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s Friday sermon last week is significant for at least two reasons. One, it was an uncharacteristic exercise in plainspeak. The Mirwaiz made no bones about the fact that the moderate wing of the Hurriyat has come to perceive the role of the hardliners as obstructive, counter-productive and dangerous in so far as they appear compulsively opposed to any initiative that could see an end to the interminable cycle of violence and death in the Valley. The Mirwaiz took care not to name anybody in his critique but it is obvious that the focus of his attention was really the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, chaired by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, which has acted as a consistent spoiler ever since the Hurriyat split in 2003. The patience of the moderates appears to have run out, and going by the enthusiastic response of the general congregation at Srinagar’s Grand Mosque to the Mirwaiz’s words, it is a view that could have wide popular support.Second, and more important perhaps, is that the Mirwaiz appears to be putting the full weight of his authority behind the current search for a resolution of Kashmir through a process of talking to both countries. He appears to sense a moment of change in Valley politics and this appears to have given him a new confidence. Last week, he became the first Hurriyat leader to participate in direct talks with the prime minister. Later this week, he is scheduled to meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York, a few days after the Manmohan Singh-Musharraf meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA.New Delhi should leverage the opportunity for change inherent in the present situation. In its dealings with both Pakistan and the Hurriyat, it should persist with its approach of offering a ceasefire within Jammu and Kashmir if violence within the state is brought down significantly.
