Farooq Abdullah’s over four decade old political career shows that he always tends to be in the news and this time he is in the news over his remark on accession of the two parts of Jammu & Kashmir with India and Pakistan. His remark that part of Jammu & Kashmir administered by India belongs to India and part of Jammu & Kashmir administered by Pakistan belongs to Pakistan has evoked sharp reactions from both New Delhi and Islamabad. While the Pakistan Prime Minister has publicly pronounced his country’s unwillingness to accept the option of Independent Kashmir as a solution to seventy year long Kashmir dispute, several ministers in the Modi government in Delhi have accused Farooq Abdullah of toying with the ideas of “anti-nationals” in Jammu & Kashmir. Whatever may be the reason but people at the helm in Delhi and Islamabad can’t dispute the fact that Farooq Abdullah’s controversial remark on political destiny of Jammu & Kashmir has triggered a divide in opinions on the resolution of Kashmir issue at a time when Modi government has appointed former Intelligence Bureau Chief Dineshwar Sharma as its Special Representative for dialogue in Jammu & Kashmir. Even if Farooq Abdullah is facing allegations of toying with the idea of separatists in Jammu & Kashmir from several ministers of Modi government but Abdullah making an attempt to trigger a divide in opinions on Kashmir issue at the behest of the incumbent government in Delhi could be an apprehension which people in Kashmir may have for right reason as this effort of Abdullah would in the eye of many eye watchers in Kashmir obviously deflect the attention of people from Dineshwer Sharma’s engagement process to the divide in opinions amongst the stake holders of dialogue in Jammu & Kashmir. Since Dineshwar Sharma the special representative of central government for dialogue in Jammu & Kashmir did not get the response people at the helm in Delhi expected , the Sharma’s engagement process has already lost its credibility due to unwillingness of the Joint separatist leadership (JRL) to join the dialogue process in the very first round.
Abdullah has by virtue of his controversial remark on accession of the two parts of Jammu & Kashmir with India and Pakistan again proved it beyond doubt that he knows the art of becoming a news maker.
Only naives can pass on any final judgment on the final outcome of the debate on Farooq Abdullah’s remark over accession of two parts of Jammu & Kashmir with India and Pakistan but Farooq Abdullah in his traditional political posturing has come at the centre stage of the current political scenario in Jammu & Kashmir state. Farooq Abdullah is a leader who wants to be in the news over the controversies which are always connected with the issues concerning bitterness in Indo-Pak relations for the last seven decades. Abdullah has by virtue of his controversial remark on accession of the two parts of Jammu & Kashmir with India and Pakistan again proved it beyond doubt that he knows the art of becoming a news maker.
