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Kargil victims want to give peace a chance

For the victims of the Kargil conflict, peace is an eternal hope. But General Pervez Musharraf's cigarette-smoking, pistol-wielding image of those days refuses to go away.

"Let them negotiate, peace is what we want," says Hema Aziz, mother of the late Lt Hanifuddin, who was killed near Turtuk during Kargil. Kashmir being a "very sensitive point for so many years," Aziz doesn't want to give her personal comments on Musharraf's visit to India, but ultimately hopes for peace.

"This is no time for personal feelings," the acclaimed classical singer, who is building a school in memory of the late army officer, says. "Personal feelings can spoil the cause."

"We have our elected representatives negotiating. Any negative message would not be good now," she says.

The families of the Kargil martyrs have always faced a dilemma about expressing their feelings in public. "During Kargil the morale of our people had to be kept in mind," she said.

And now, "We should wait and see." Her only suggestion is that "we should find a solution without losing much."

Aziz, who approached her personal tragedy with a rare dignity, is probably the only war victim who refused a petrol pump allotted by the government under a special scheme.

Ultimately, she says all talks are welcome, since, "We don't want to lose more people."

Colonel (retired) V Thapar, who lost his son Lt Vijayant Thapar in Kargil, says, it would be difficult to forget Gen Musharraf's image during Kargil war. That of a General extorting his men to fight more furiously.

"It's time that we found a lasting solution," the retired officer says. "One has to get to the real issue and find a permanent solution."

He is critical of Pakistan's approach, though India "has gone wholeheartedly for peace."

"They do not show any inclination to achieve lasting peace. Even now they are championing Kashmir," he said. "What peace are you expecting, at what cost?" he asks.

The soldier in him refuses to mellow down, and he warns, "We have an army that can achieve our national goals through ways other than diplomacy."

The talks, he says, should not end in compromising national goals. "If it is a solution with the national interests in mind, then it is okay."

He pointed out that Kashmir problem, from being a "bipartisan problem is turning out to be a multipartite problem." However, nobody is talking about "thousands of the minority population who were victims of ethnic cleansing in Kashmir".

There are pertinent questions that Gen Musharraf needs to answer, he said. "Can he distance himself from cross-border terrorism? Pakistan's present attempt is to maintain peace along the LoC and carry the war to heartland."

Admittedly, the victims of Kargil, who lost their dear ones in the conflict on the icy peaks, still have anger and sorrow as they recollect those bloody days.

A serving army officer, who was actively involved in the fighting in Kargil, says, "Personal tragedies have no place in the pursuit of national goals."

"We need to end the crisis, we need to find peace. Our army is tired of fighting militants, the people of Kashmir are tired of militancy and even Pakistan is economically drained due its over-indulgence in Kashmir. I am sure we will find peace," the officer, who was decorated for his exploits in Kargil, says.

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