Ceasefire will pave way for talks in Kashmir, says former Hizbul commander

Former Hizbul commander Zafar Akbar Bhat took part in talks after the 2000 ceasefire

Ceasefire will pave way for talks in Kashmir, says former Hizbul commander Representational Image | PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party, ally of the Peoples Democratic Party, has rejected the idea of a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir, but Zafar Akbar Bhat, a former Hizbul Mujahideen commander who took part in talks after the ceasefire in 2000 by the Centre, said a ceasefire can again pave the way for talks on Kashmir.

When Hizbul Mujahideen announced a ceasefire in 2000, Bhat was the group's operational commander for Srinagar and Budgam.

Zafar Akbar Bhat Zafar Akbar Bhat

After the ceasefire, he and three other senior commanders―Masood Ahmed, Farooq Mirchal, and Riyaz Rasool―held talks with then Union Home Secretary Kamal Pandey and special secretaries, M.B. Kaushal and Tilak Raj Kakkar.

The talks were mediated by Fazal Haque Quraishi, Musadiq Adil and G.M. Naikoo in Srinagar.

The talks failed after Pakistan-based Hizbul supremo Syed Salahuddin Ahmed demanded the inclusion of Pakistan in talks and then withdrew the ceasefire.

The Hizbul Mujahideen then ordered former chief operations commander Abdul Majeed Dar and the other four to return to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Only Rasool returned.

Mirchal went missing and suspicion fell on Hizbul, while Tantray, who had a triple masters in Arabic, English and Political Science, was killed in an encounter. Dar was killed by suspected Hizbul militants and only Bhat survived.

“Ceasefire is not an issue of victory and loss,” Bhat said. “It's about finding a way to the negotiating table.”

He said the ceasefire had helped pave the way for talks.

“It's a confidence-building measure. It doesn't mean surrender,” he said. “It's about putting a stop to blinding the youth with pellets and ending the killing of civilians and soldiers on both sides of the Line of Control.”

He said the ceasefire will help create an atmosphere for talks between Kashmiris, India and Pakistan to find a lasting solution to the problem.

“But we did it for our people,” the former Hizbul commander said. “After the ceasefire, the governments of India, America, the United Kingdom had accepted us as a party to the Kashmir dispute.”

And then the talks began, he said.

Bhat said it is important to note that they had not surrendered or ditched the movement.

“It was a ceasefire not surrender and all the militant groups tacitly supported it,” he said. “When one of our commanders, Molvi Feroz was martyred, on July 25, the Army apologised and said it was a mistake.”

He said the Government of India had accepted them a party to the dispute.

“We put conditions for talks which they accepted,” he said. “We had talked about the resolution of the Kashmir issue and not setting political prisoners free and withdrawing the AFSPA.”

Bhat said the Centre's representative told them that they were free to deliberate with Salahuddin about what needs to be discussed.

He said that Kashmiri leaders, London-based late Ayub Thakur and US-based Ghulam Nabi Fai had supported the ceasefire and told Salahuddin he had done the right thing.

“The talks failed because of the vested interest in India, Pakistan and Kashmir,” Bhat said. “But we must keep trying even till the matter get resolved.”

Asked about Army Chief Bipin Rawat's statement that Kashmiris should know that azadi will not come and Army will fight those who want to secede from India with full force, Bhat said for the last 30 years they have neither been able to win the hearts of Kashmiris nor have they been able to crush the movement.

“Ultitmately, the issue can be resolved only through talks,” Bhat stressed.