Shujaat Bukhari is a Kashmir-based journalist who is editor in chief of the Srinagar-based English language newspaper, Kashmir Rising.

During a recent trip to Islamabad, where he interviewed Sartaj Aziz, he spoke to Dawn about the recent election in Kashmir and how Kashmiris’ view possible talks between India and Pakistan.

Q. How is Kashmir viewing the latest news of the Indian foreign secretary visiting Pakistan?

A: In the context of Kashmir, it is a good start. A deadlock between India and Pakistan leads to tension on the border and the residents of the two Kashmirs are sandwiched between the two powers. We have been paying the price of the friction between the countries.

Q: Could one interpret higher turnout during the recent elections in Kashmir to mean that the Kashmiris are now less alienated from the Indian state?

A: From 1996 onwards, people have been reluctant to vote. I have myself seen the army dragging people to the voting booths. However, this attitude is now changing. People now see elections as being important to resolving governance issues that affect their daily lives. This is why, despite the boycott, the people turned out to vote. But during the elections, most people said that voting was not linked to the resolution of Kashmir. And this distinction has been made by the ordinary Kashmiri, who has delinked the election from larger political issues and ignored the calls of the separatists to boycott the elections.

In other words, elections, which have been held from 1996 to 2014, are not a verdict on the accession (of Kashmir to India). If they had been, there would have been no unrest as there was in 2008, 2009 and 2010 when thousands marched in the streets of Srinagar.

During this election, there was also anger against the previous government for killing 120 people in 2010, which compelled Kashmiris to vote.

The political problems faced by the youth of Kashmir are yet to be addressed. The development packages have not helped young people’s psyche. They still look at India differently – through the barrel of a gun.

Q: What is the progress on the talks between People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a government in Jammu Kashmir?

A: The talks are facing some rough weather. The elections gave a split verdict with the BJP winning in Jammu while in Kashmir, the people voted for the PDP, the National Congress and the Congress. There was pressure on the PDP to join hands with the Congress and NC but it decided against this. The PDP is now having talks with the BJP which has caused some resentment against the former. The PDP is aware of this resentment which is why it has given a long list of demands to the BJP including a) dialogue with Pakistan b) dialogue with the Hurriyat c) that BJP maintain the status quo on Article 370 d) withdrawal of the Armed Forced Special Powers Act from certain regions e) and return of the power projects.

There is now a deadlock as these are not easy conditions to meet. For instance, for the BJP getting rid of Article 370 is part of their political bible.

As a result, there will be some hard bargaining in the days to come and government formation will not be easy or quick. But there may not be a government if they failed to arrive at a consensus.

Q: Why has the PDP included the return of the power projects and compensation for the Indus water as demands in the talks with BJP?

A: The Indus Water Treaty gave Pakistan the rights to the rivers that run through Kashmir. But Kashmir was a disputed territory and the Kashmiris now feel that they have the right to ask who those rivers belong to.

But this is not an issue that India and Pakistan want to bring up.Similarly, India has put up power houses on Jhelum and Chenab and we only get 12 per cent of royalties.

Meanwhile, we grope in the dark on winter evenings and are forced to buy electricity at high rates from India. We want to be compensated for this. But this is not a new issue; Omar Abdullah had also been pursuing it.

Q: How do you view the Confidence Building Measures (CBM) that were implemented across the LoC during the Musharraf years?

A: CBMs are a stepping stone that help the people on both sides. There is now a joint chamber of commerce that has members from all over. It is headed by YV Sharma from Jammu. Imagine, Mr Sharma now represents a trader from Gilgit-Baltistan who is also a member of the chamber.

Such efforts bring people together and allow them to understand each other’s lives and problems. This can create a constituency for peace.

The two governments need to remove bottlenecks by building the infrastructure on both sides to facilitate trade and improve banking facilities. At the moment, the trade is in barter. The trade needs to become meaningful.

Published in Dawn February 21th , 2015

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