Letting Hurriyat leaders visit PoK is a mistake, say experts

Kashmir experts have criticised the United Progressive Alliance government for letting Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf dictate India's policy on the troubled region.

The experts, many of whom have dealt with Kashmir in various capacities in intelligence agencies and the foreign affairs establishment, believe that letting the All Parties Hurriyat Conference delegation cross over to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir was a grave mistake.

Also see: 'Crossing PoK will be breach of trust'

A five-member Hurriyat delegation, led by its chief Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, left for PoK by road on Thursday morning. Though the Hurriyat leaders are not carrying their passports and the ministry of external affairs has asked them to restrict their visit to PoK, the Mirwaiz and his colleagues have scheduled meetings with the Pakistani leadership in Islamabad on June 4.

"Generalsaab [Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf] is conducting India's Kashmir policy," said A S Dulat, former chief of Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, and ex-advisor on Kashmir to the previous National Democratic Alliance government.

Dulat, who dealt with Kashmir in various capacities for over 20 years, said he is appalled by the way the government has handled the Hurriyat Conference.

"Whether Hurriyat leaders should go to Pakistan or not is a subject that should have been discussed before and not now. When India agreed for a special permit [for travel between Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir], we should have envisaged such a situation," Dulat said.

Also see: Malik recalls his PoK visit in '89

Another Kashmir expert, who has been a part of the foreign affairs establishment, said India can only sit and watch the tamasha now as Hurriyat leaders visit Pakistan and push their agenda with top leaders in Islamabad.

"If the government thinks their [Hurriyat leaders'] visit to Pakistan is not desired, then why did it allow them to cross the border? They are not going in secret," Dulat said.

A senior advisor in the Vajpayee government who dealt with security issues, foreign affairs and Kashmir, told this correspondent, "When the issue of special permits instead of passports to start the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service had come up before me, I said no to such an arrangement. The visit by any Indian to PoK without passport was not acceptable to us. The Vajpayee government had suggested that both sides write in the form that 'this permission doesn't change nor does it have any bearing on the country's actual ground positions'."

A former close aide of Vajpayee said the government will be in trouble if the Hurriyat  leaders cross over to Pakistan from PoK. "How can any Indian travel to another country without an Indian passport? It's just not done. It will be a crisis difficult to manage. It's a crisis because although we don't want Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan, we can't do anything about it."

Also see: Two Hindus get invite from PoK president

Dulat agreed the government cannot do anything now but sit and watch. "Now we have no option but to take it lightly. It looks like this government doesn't have a Kashmir policy."

When asked how the government managed to paint itself in a corner, Dulat said: "When the Centre is not pro-active in engaging Hurriyat leaders, obviously Pakistan will fill the space."

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