AA Edit | To ensure a better future in J&K, reach out to its youth
Elections are the time for political parties to amp up their rhetoric, and the three-phase elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, scheduled to start on September 18, aren’t any different. Rhetoric is all about catching the attention of the target community, and hence it is not often subjected to tests of fact. However, a uniform line of argument would do well, especially for the BJP, which is running the Union government. Any thought shared in public by its senior leaders on the future of Jammu and Kashmir and the relations with Pakistan will be keenly watched for.
Home minister Amit Shah and external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar would emphatically rule out the possibility of improving any kind of relationship with Pakistan — be it resumption of talks for trade or those on the Line of Control. Mr Shah has said there is no scope for parleying with the Pakistani government until terrorism is completely eradicated. He has, however, expressed the Centre’s willingness to engage with the youth of the Union Territory. Mr Shah’s statement is aligned with the position of the Government of India expressed in no uncertain terms by EAM Jaishankar that the “era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over”.
The two ministers were reiterating what has been the NDA government’s approach to Pakistan over the last 10 years, except for the very short period when there were signs of the government making an attempt to reach out to the Pakistani government. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a short, unannounced visit to Pakistan in 2015 and met then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, raising hopes of a thaw in the relations. The dynamics of Pakistan’s internal politics and the continued support it has extended to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir ensured that all those hopes died a premature death. India has made no overtures to the neighbour since and in fact hardened its position instead.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh has toed the government line, albeit with a slight difference in tone. While the home minister and the external affairs minister have made it appear as if the neighbour does not exist for India, Mr Singh acknowledged its presence and conceded the value of improving relationships. “We want improved relations with Pakistan,” he said, and added in the same breath, “but, first of all, they should stop terrorism.”
The BJP has every right to put its policy on Pakistan down in black and white. It may be remembered that the NDA government under Atal Behari Vajpayee had also expressed its willingness to have a better relationship with Pakistan but that was ended by the Pakistani misadventure in Kargil. The Modi government’s initial overtures were never returned in the same measure either. It is at this point that Mr Shah’s statement on the willingness to initiate talks with the youth of the valley becomes significant. However, Mr Shah and the government should not forget the fact that hundreds of Kashmiri youth who were apprehended during their protests against the Union government’s hollowing out of Article 370 are still languishing in jail. A beginning can be made by taking a relook at their cases. Hardline positions hardly take a political cause ahead. As the defence minister suggested, an acknowledgement of ground realities will be a great way to start the process.