The Hindu : National : Denial of permission, an expected move

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 03, 2005

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National

Denial of permission, an expected move

By Luv Puri

JAMMU, APRIL 2. The Pakistan Government's decision denying permission to politicians to go to Muzaffarabad in the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus was an expected move. Many of them, even while filing their papers, were pessimistic over getting permission from Pakistan due to historical reasons.

The CPI (M) State Secretary M.Y. Tarigami, who had also applied for a travel permit, told the The Hindu that "I had already told you that getting permission from Pakistan to politicians is not possible at this stage. I do not know how reports attributing to the State Government claimed that Pakistan has agreed to this proposal. It is sheer commonsense that this was not possible at this stage."

Pakistan does not recognise any party in the State as the representative of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. It has missed no opportunity to describe the State Government and mainstream politicians as "puppets" in the hands of Central Government.

Most of the politicians have been denied permission to travel to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or even to Pakistan in the last 15 years. For instance, Mubarik Gul, the Chief Whip of the National Conference in the J&K Legislative Assembly, was twice denied permission to go to Pakistan via the Wagah border in the last five years. A number of legislators of Poonch district, who have relatives on the other side of LOC, have been denied permission.

In 1964, the founder of the National Conference and former Chief Minister, Sheikh Abdullah, paid a visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as part of the initiative taken by the late Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Pakistan President, Ayub Khan, to resolve the Kashmir tangle.

Recently, Trilok Singh Bajwa, a Rajya Sabha MP of the People's Democratic Party, visited Pakistan as part of a Parliamentary delegation.

Already a part of the separatist leadership in the State led by Tehreek-ul-Hurriyat chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, was upset with Pakistan for reaching an agreement with the Centre on the bus service. If the visit was approved by Pakistan, it would have further alienated the separatist leadership towards it. The denial came on the same day Mr. Geelani appealed to them not to attack passengers travelling on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus. Sources told The Hindu that it was a new compromise formula worked out by both sides.

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