Violating Hurriyat constitution

Violating Hurriyat constitutionhe uprising in the Hurriyat (M) on the statement made by Muslim Conference chief Prof Abdul Gani Bhat that UN resolutions on Kashmir had become irrelevant or impracticable seem to have caused a storm in the tea cup of Kashmir politics. He has been accused of ‘violating Hurriyat constitution’. No leader in history has been perfect. Churchill is the classic example. Before the war he was something of a misfit. In the war he became the great British hero. When he became Prime Minister again after the war, he is memorable for more or less nothing. The same person in different contexts could be a hero or a zero; the person did not change, the context changed. Today we can see that Prof. Gani and his associates don’t have the same context, which caused the constitution of 31 July 1993. There is a strong possibility that unless Hurriyat constituents rush to revisit their role in the new context, they may become irrelevant in days to come. Their under-performance, failure to react to bigger moments of truth (which are rare), their tendency to react under stress and failure to break down their vision into, ‘where we are’, ‘where we are going’ and ‘how we are going to get there’, are serious challenges for their continued relevance. No one likes to follow an indecisive leader who has no sense of direction and is always changing his mind. Are our leaders still relevant today or misfits in the face of new challenges and in the face of the changed context? The question has to be raised at all levels. We don’t want Kashmir politics, in particular, Hurriyat or non Hurriyat to disintegrate at this point. It may serve their purpose (of some others) to wash their hands off and engineer to drift in different directions, it does not serve the interests of the people who trusted their political agenda for the last 22 years and suffered tragic losses, of life, honour and property. Leaders should not be allowed to look out for a space in the newspaper columns for nothing. The allegation that Prof Abdul Gani Bhat has violated Hurriyat constitution does not have any merit. In fact Hurriyat (M) in particular (as against Hurriyat G) violated its constitution years back when it offered itself to President Musharraf and sold his four point formula on Kashmir. At page 303 at the conclusion of his 4 point formula Musharraf writes, “This idea is purely personal and would need refinement. It would also need to be sold to the public by all involved parties for acceptance”. There is evidence that Hurriyat leaders were first to volunteer their ‘obedience’ and started selling the Musharraf formula to the people and the world at large. Establishment in Islamabad does not involve AJK Government, opposition, civil society in AJK or Gilgit and Baltistan and Hurriyat or civil society from Jammu and Kashmir in shaping the diplomatic character of Kashmir case to interpret UN jurisprudence on Kashmir. It is handled directly and in part through three Kashmir Centres. Establishment has allowed the employees of these Centres to enjoy the luxury of treating themselves as leaders and they have been more than happy to sell Musharraf formula to the people. I have been visiting Kashmir on a regular basis from 1996. In all my interactions in the last 16 years I have hardly seen any Kashmiri leader keeping a true copy or a photo copy of UN Resolutions on Kashmir. Their understanding of UN Resolutions on Kashmir is based on a political rhetoric handed down from 1948 or whatever has been reported in the press over the years. They have addressed the veracity of UN Resolutions as our common people in homes offer themselves to story tellers, who narrate the story of “Rostam and Sohrab”. There is hardly a constituent in Hurriyat (M) or even in Hurriyat (G) who has any clue about UN Jurisprudence on Kashmir case. They would not even know that Kashmir was not raised at the UN for 32 years from 25 November 1965 to 15 September 1996. After 1996 it has lost its regular character on the UN Security Council Agenda which had continued for 48 years from January 1948. After September 1996 Kashmir returns to the UN Security Council Agenda at the request of a Member state exercising its “right to bring matters to the attention of the Security Council in conformity with Article 35 of the Charter of the United Nations”. It is now a subject of an annual reminder by any Member State. The first confusion around UN Resolutions was created through JKLF and its members failed to realise that they were tricked into an incorrect understanding of UN Resolutions. Although I resisted this misdirection of understanding as chairman of JKLF Constitution Committee in 1982/83 yet the majority of wisdom on the subject was flawed. Rather than relying on the principle of ‘equality of people’ in self-determination and the wisdoms of article 257 of the Constitution of Pakistan and Indian Submissions at the UN Security Council, which favour ‘Independent’ Kashmir State, JKLF members like Hurriyat constituents wrangled around a misconception that UN Resolutions provided accession to India or Pakistan only.

The statement made by Muslim Conference chief at Botengo Sopore is a misdirection of wisdom, in the manner in which it has been perpetuated over the years. Prof. Gani Bhat has a right to hold any political opinion in politics but when it came to UN Resolutions on Kashmir he has to be perfect. The first and immediate impact of UN Resolutions becoming irrelevant favours people of AJK and Gilgit and Baltistan. Under those circumstances the duties assumed by the Government of Pakistan under UNCIP Resolutions in AJK and Gilgit and Baltistan come to an immediate end. The stay of Pakistan in AJK becomes unlawful and the presence of its armies in these territories would cascade into a category of ‘occupation forces’. The territories presently under the administration of Pakistan would revert back to the position and independence declarations of 4 and 24 October 1947. Pakistan would be in the list of neighbouring countries. India would be free of all UN restrictions on the number, behaviour and location of its armed forces. Jammu and Kashmir Assembly would also be free from UN Security Council restrictions cautioning it that it is elected only from a part of the whole territory and does not have the legislative ability to take any decision in respect of the future of the State. The cease fire between India and Pakistan under UN Security Council Resolutions and the role of UNMOGIP to supervise the cease fire line would be endangered. Hurriyat does not have any clue in regard to the fact that UN Resolutions provide three Governments at Srinagar, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit under its supervision. That would involve the daily interaction of 194 countries and their embassies or equivalent presence in Kashmir. It would revolutionise the economy, tourism and generate mass employment. Kashmir would without doubt turn into “Eden of the East”. The financial dependence of our leaders on Pakistan (or India) would be replaced by a legitimate support of the international community through the various agencies of United Nations. UN Resolutions deal with the rights of Kashmiri refugees, rights of minorities and their representation in the Government and address the question of equality of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It is unfortunate that Hurriyat is under-performing at present and has not shown the ability to change with the change of context in which it came into existence. Hurriyat as a ‘Union’ has failed to live up to its duties listed under Chapter II article 2 (i) to (v) in the Hurriyat constitution and its constituents have continued to violate their party roles defined in Chapter III article 3 (ii). The present structure of the Hurriyat is unconstitutional Under Chapter III article 4 (iii). All office bearers at this point are unconstitutional under Chapter III item 5 (i). The office of the President is also unconstitutional and not in accordance with article 7 (i) of the constitution. Hurriyat does not need to be the best leaders on the planet. No leader gets ticks in all the boxes, even the best leaders have their faults. And this does not matter. You simply need to be better than your colleagues in a relevant way. We know that our leaders do not have much power or control. It is dangerously unfortunate to state that they don’t even have the clarity about what they must do.

Author is London based Secretary General of JKCHR – NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations. He can be mailed at dr-nazirgilani@jkchr.com

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