NEW DELHI: The National Conference decision to withdraw from the five working groups charged with discussing Jammu and Kashmir's constitutional and economic future has raised fears that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's dialogue process could be approaching a meltdown.

On Tuesday, party president Omar Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar that Dr. Singh failed to honour promises that there would be "zero tolerance" of human rights violations in the State. The Government, he said, "had promised a healing touch but delivered a killing touch."

Analysts believe that the party's action is a predictable consequence of New Delhi's cautious reopening of dialogue with secessionist groups. Notably, it has decided to allow direct talks between the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference and the Pakistan Government, a process which democratic parties in the State see as a threat to their influence and authority.

"Out-of-the-box" ideas

Earlier this week, APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said he would soon travel to Islamabad to present "out-of-the-box" proposals for creation of a "United States of Kashmir" to President Pervez Musharraf. Mirwaiz Farooq said the proposals included "regional councils for all the five regions on the two sides of the Line of Control, a joint parliament of all the regions and self-governance."

While New Delhi has had no formal contact with the APHC after the secessionist coalition resiled from its promise to participate in the Prime Minister's round-table conference in May, back-channel dialogue has gathered momentum since. The former Research and Analysis Wing chief, A.S. Dulat, who played a core role in shaping the National Democratic Alliance Government's Jammu and Kashmir policy, is thought to have an important role in liaising between New Delhi and the APHC.

Contact with Hizb

New Delhi has also made covert contact with figures close to the Hizb ul-Mujahideen amir Mohammad Yusuf Shah, the Pakistan-based chief of the largest terrorist group operating in Jammu and Kashmir. A senior representative of the Government of India, sources said, held at least one meeting with a New York-based Islamist leader to explore the possibility of putting a ceasefire in place.

All of this poses a major challenge to the National Conference, which has already witnessed the erosion of its status as the sole spokesperson for greater autonomy by the People's Democratic Party's calls for "self-rule." In September, the PDP set up a drafting committee to formalise its proposals, which the party says will centre round protecting the constitutional guarantees enshrined in Article 370.

New Delhi's failure to set up a working group to discuss the constitutional future of the State, a key promise made by Dr. Singh in May, has also angered National Conference leaders. "The Government of India seems willing to talk to anyone other than the elected representatives of the people," a senior party leader told The Hindu .

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary M.Y. Tarigami described the National Conference action as "a cause of great concern."

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