By Business India Editorial

It is not every day that three former chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir – Farooq and Omar Abdullah, and the just-released Mehbooba Mufti – come together to discuss their future and that of the people of what has now been reduced to a Union Territory. But that is exactly what happened when the three met to form the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, which is ostensibly aimed at extracting a renegotiation of Kashmir’s status within India. Given the rapid pace at which events have unfolded in J&K over the past year, it is easy to forget that the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been arch-rivals for over two decades. 

The Abdullahs saw the PDP as a force propped up by the Centre to undercut them. The BJP-PDP government in J&K, though short-lived, seemed to validate this claim. On the other hand, the Muftis blamed the NC’s compromises with New Delhi as responsible for Kashmir’s fate. Remember, Omar was a minister of state in the Vajpayee government and Farooq served as cabinet minister in successive UPA regimes. The competitive rivalry between the two dynasties prevented them from joining hands earlier.

And while, on the face of it, the Abdullahs and Mufti cannot openly give up their demand for the restoration of Article 370, a more realistic goal – that could provide them a face-saver – is asking for statehood. This is something that even the Modi government has maintained can happen, once the situation settles down. It would, therefore, not be out of turn for New Delhi to start a sincere dialogue to restore political normalcy in J&K.

The time is propitious. Both the NC and the PDP now recognise that their political survival is itself at stake. Pakistan, known to stoke trouble in the Valley, is beset with political turmoil, with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s domestic and international credibility falling by the day. The Centre needs to initiate the dialogue and carry it to fruition before Pakistan recovers its breath and once again starts fishing in the troubled waters of the Valley. Indeed, some of the moves of the J&K administration could bear fruit in the coming months. 

By-elections to 13,000 panchayat seats, which are lying vacant for the past about two years, are being held shortly. In 2018, regional parties, including the NC and PDP, had boycotted the panchayat elections. These parties should be persuaded to contest the elections, so that their cadres get a stake in the political process. Once the people of J&K get to decide their own priorities, they will develop a vested interest in peace and back any well-meaning move.