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Pakistan's priorities have changed: Geelani
Geelani says Pakistan's priorities "appear to have changed" and it is laying more emphasis on trade with India than the Kashmir dispute.
Syed Ali Geelani, the epitome of hardline separatism in Jammu and Kashmir, says in his reckoning Pakistan's priorities "appear to have changed" and it is laying more emphasis on trade with India than the Kashmir dispute.
Geelani, who surprised everyone by backing the peace process between India and Pakistan for the first time last month, said it was "natural" for public support to the armed insurgency in Kashmir to wane.
While accusing the government of India of indulging in "doublespeak", he claimed Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf was "under US pressure" to resolve the Kashmir issue.
Referring to changes in Pakistan's Kashmir policy, Geelani told IANS in an interview: "Their priorities appear to have changed. They are now giving preference to trade and bilateral relations with India.
"We are not against such relations, but we say the basic dispute of Kashmir should be resolved first and unless that is done, clouds of uncertainty and mistrust would always loom over relations between the two countries. Such relations would never be long lasting or stable."
Since an insurgency began in the Kashmir Valley in 1989, Geelani has been at the forefront of those pushing for Jammu and Kashmir's merger with Pakistan. He has also vocally backed the armed struggle.
Last month, when Musharraf visited New Delhi, Geelani was among the Kashmiri leaders who met him. Geelani initially sounded harsh on India-Pakistan bonhomie but after his return to Srinagar he has welcomed the peace diplomacy.
"You cannot think the pace and tempo (of public support) would be uniform for (so many) years. This is but natural. There are ups and downs in public support to any separatist movement. The same is true of Kashmir.
"But so far as the sacrifices of the people are concerned, it is impossible that such sacrifices can be ignored by any local."
Asked if it was time for him to advise those engaged in insurgency to give up weapons, Geelani avoided a direct answer, but said : "It is India's attitude that Kashmir should be resolved on the strength of military power...
"We are never against negotiations but these must be result-oriented and purposeful.
"For that, India must accept that Kashmir is disputed. They are playing with words. On the one hand, there is the unanimous resolution of the Indian parliament that Kashmir is an integral part of India and, on the other hand, they are telling Pakistan they are ready to resolve the Kashmir dispute."
Geelani said Musharraf was "under US pressure" and the Pakistan government "wants to resolve Kashmir and they appear to have moved beyond a plebiscite and the UN resolutions on Kashmir.
"India is showing no flexibility at all. India should have shown greater flexibility, being the bigger player in South Asia."
Speaking about moves to reunite various factions of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, Geelani said the reasons for the division in the separatist grouping would have to be addressed first.
"We have to see why the Hurriyat was broken after 10 years. We have amended the constitution of the Hurriyat recently. It is a structural amendment which makes all constituents equally powerful and gives the same status to all of them," said Geelani, who leads the hardline faction of the grouping.
"If the amendment is acceptable to the Mirwaiz (Umar Farooq) group, we can re-unite."
Geelani said he did not see hardline separatist leaders like himself being sidelined in the growing atmosphere of peace and reconciliation between India and Pakistan.
