Editorial: Act before it is too late

India and Pakistan have been involved in intense skirmishes on the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and parts of Kashmir region. The cross LoC firing has resulted in huge human loses and otherwise, during the past three weeks now.
However, both the countries have not moved beyond their stated positions on various issues and no headway is being made to initiate some sort of dialogue to resolve the immediate crises and to move beyond and get things to work out on various other issues that have left the relations between the two countries strained.
The reasons for delaying the dialogue process to resolve the Kashmir issue by the present party heading the federal government is beyond anybody’s comprehension.
That dialogue is the only way forward to help get some sort of positive semblance in the state, is being ignored and the coalition partner of the BJP in the state is feeling helpless to get some initiatives moving.
The BJP’s tough posturing over Kashmir has puzzled many. Though it may be trying to achieve more vibrant base in the mainland India, however, the move is not helping the party reach out to the people in the only Muslim majority state.
The BJP, given its unexplained tough stand should be held to its promise of dialogue with all stakeholders, including Hurriyat, and even Pakistan, as that is the only way out of the present imbroglio in Jammu and Kashmir.
After having promised dialogue, citing former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP needs to answer as to why is it going back on the agenda of the alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The BJP should be held answerable to their own promise in the agenda of the alliance where they have said they would talk to all internal stakeholders. However, even after the ruling dispensation has failed to get the centre moving on such crucial issue, the PDP should have tried to explore some other ways of getting some movement forward on the initiation of the dialogue process.
The BJP’s central leadership have already faced severe criticism by some of their own colleagues, like the former External Affairs and Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, who headed an apolitical group of eminent citizens that visited the Kashmir Valley.
Even though the group he headed had given its recommendations to the government of India on bringing peace in the valley where the situation is going from bad to worse because people are getting more and more alienated.
However, still the BJP’s ally in the state is finding it hard to persuade the central leadership of initiating dialogue-even if given the circumstances-the dialogue process is conducted between New Delhi and the separatist leadership and ignoring the direct involvement of Pakistan at this juncture.
No doubt the centre has appointed an interlocutor, but as of now the centre’s point man on dialogue has failed to break ice, particularly with the separatist camp.
Even if Delhi excludes Pakistan for the time being, it has no reason not to have a dialogue with the people in Jammu and Kashmir. When the Indian government have talks with the Nagas, why ignore Kashmiris’, a question that needs to be answered.

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