The Hindu : International / India & World : Time to say goodbye to the gun: Qayyum Khan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 02, 2004

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International - India & World

Time to say goodbye to the gun: Qayyum Khan

By Shujaat Bukhari

MUZAFFARABAD DEC. 1. The atmosphere of talks and confidence-building measures has forced the pioneers of militancy in Kashmir to rethink and take recourse to political measures to resolve the vexed issue of Kashmir.

Sardar Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman, Amanullah Khan, based in Muzaffarabad, have no regrets in admitting that they promoted the "gun culture" in the trouble-torn State of Jammu and Kashmir. But they now believe that the gun had played its role in highlighting the issue and it was time to solve the problem politically.

The first warrior

Mr. Qayyum Khan, who is also known as "Mujahid-e-Awal" (the first warrior) of the Kashmir struggle, says that he was given the name during the early 1940's when Kashmiris were fighting the Dogra rule. "I did play a role in that," he said. Mr. Qayyum Khan was the pivotal force in giving a formal shape later to the armed struggle in Kashmir. As head of the government in PoK he had a significant role in funding militant organisations and was even the patron of many such outfits. The militants in Kashmir would openly ally themselves with Mr. Qayyum Khan, whose son Sardar Attique later landed in an "arms deal" controversy, which also blocked his road to the prime ministership of PoK two years ago.

Human dimensions

"Guns alone cannot solve our problem," Mr. Qayyum Khan told the visiting Indian journalists here recently. But it has given a "new life" to the Kashmir issue, he said, adding "if the gun would not have come nobody would talk about this issue which has human dimensions." Mr. Qayyum Khan, who heads the ruling Muslim Conference in PoK, said that for the last 15 years gun had been there but it was in nobody's control now. "I do not think anybody has the power to control," he added. Only political means would help resolve the crisis. The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service should be reopened so that people could meet.

Mistakes

Mr. Amanullah Khan spoke of introducing the gun in Kashmir. "I took the decision of taking to the gun," he said, adding that the "gun is no solution but in this part of the world you do not get the due unless you use the gun." "Let us give peace a chance but maybe we are forced to resort to gun again." He said his organisation sent the first batch of trained militants to Kashmir. "Yasin Malik, Ishfaq Majid and even Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander Ahsan Dar were trained by us," he said. But he regretted that the JKLF committed mistakes by not choosing the right people.

Mr. Amanullah Khan blamed the Jehadi organisations, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, for harming the cause of Kashmir. "It was an indigenous movement in the initial two years," he said adding that different ideologies came in and "I opposed it." For my opposition I was attacked in Islamabad, he said. India was also after him and had secured a warrant from Interpol to arrest him.He asserted that Kashmir was neither an "integral part of India nor jugular vein of Pakistan." He said Kashmir should be ruled for 15 years by an international committee and later on a referendum should be held.

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