Following a recent Kashmir conference in Jammu, the participants from India, Pakistan and the divided Kashmir which comprised of legal luminaries, members of business bodies, former diplomats, activists, independent consultants and a few journalists, a consensus statement issued by an NGO which organised the event stressed that the political resolution of the Kashmir issue ‘remains central to the process, and should be addressed in a time-bound manner’. Over the course of three days for which the conference lasted, and amid extensive discussions and hectic deliberations, the argumentative and vocal participants addressed the tangential issues surrounding the Kashmir conflict. Most participants were of the view that the rehabilitation of refugees, promoting cross-LoC cultural interactions for scholars and academics, facilitating travel for the divided families and need for more confidence building measures was required to promote a culture of peace which would, arguably, lead to a gradual understanding of the pain suffered by the people of two south Asian nuclear powers ever since the partition took place in 1947 and reconciliation. It is understandable that such conferences are held to evolve a consensus among the multiple parties and gauge the mood of the stakeholders who ultimately represent a specific constituency of people. The organisers are given a specific brief to which the proceedings are supposed to be limited. But when an issue such as Kashmir is being discussed, it will be prudent to address the concerns of the people who have been the principal victims of the 23-year-long war between India and Pakistan.

At the Jammu conference, it was surprising to see that there was very little talk about the concerns in Kashmir where 70,000 people have been killed, many of them innocent men, women and children, and 8000 people have been subjected to enforced disappearances. As the participants explored the contours to bring the separated people of Jammu and Kashmir, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan together, and to evolve a consensus on how to achieve a long lasting peace in the sub-continent, they were being very unwise and disingenuous in overlooking the brutalised victims of 23 years of war between India and Pakistan whose principal battleground has been the valley of Kashmir.

Sadly, the event could have scored at a perception level had the organisers ensured that the people of Kashmir who are the major stakeholders in this conflict were talked about. While session after session was dedicated to address the issues which India and Pakistan believe will achieve the peace, there was a criminal silence on the issue of Kashmiri people. It was equally tragic to find the participants from Kashmir valley including a few journalists and independent consultants warming up to further their vested interests and willingly remaining silent. Indeed, the governments of India and Pakistan need to answer the brutalised people of Kashmir valley first on what this war was all about. They have blood on their hands!

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