NEW DELHI, May 28: Kashmiri resistance leaders said on Saturday they would be able to apply for the June 2 Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus only on Monday, raising fears that hardly any time was left for the complex formalities to be fulfilled, including endorsement by Pakistan.
While two main Kashmiri groups have so far expressed acceptance of Pakistan’s invitation to travel to Islamabad, a third, Tehrik-i-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir of Syed Ali Shah Geelani held a shura on Saturday to debate the pros and cons of the journey.
Another meeting of Mr Geelani’s supporters is scheduled on Sunday after which a decision whether to travel would be announced.
Mr Geelani is opposed to any official bus linking areas across the Line of Control as he sees it as a betrayal of the Kashmir struggle. But his aides say he is expected to accept a decision taken by his supporters on Sunday.
Those to officially announce their acceptance of the travel plan are Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq and senior leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference as well as Yasin Malik of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.
The Mirwaiz told Dawn he did not expect Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to endorse objections raised against the travel plans by certain Indian officials.
“I don’t believe the Indian prime minister would do anything to harm his own standing in the peace dialogue which has kindled hopes in Kashmir,” the Mirwaiz said. “We expect the journey to go unhampered by bureaucratic narrow-mindedness. I don’t think Dr Singh will approve of this squeamishness.”
However, the Mirwaiz and others can only submit their travel documents with the Indian authorities on Monday because of the two-day weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
A foreign ministry spokesman has, meanwhile, sought to clarify some of the confusion surrounding the proposed travel plans. He said that application forms for travel by the Kashmir bus are available with designated authorities in Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.
Mr Malik of the JKLF said he got his forms only on Friday afternoon thereby delaying the procedure by a few days. This was also the case with others. The application is to be subjected to verification on the Indian side to establish the bona fides of the traveller. The verified form is passed on to Muzaffarabad through the immigration control point at the LoC to decide on the acceptability of the traveller.
“Thereafter, due verification is carried out on the Pakistan side.
The verified forms are returned to Regional Passport Office, Srinagar, through the same route. These forms indicate clearance or refusal, as the case may be, for those who have applied for travel. When the actual travel takes place, based on this application, an entry permit is issued by the other side at the immigration checkpoint by its designated authority,” the spokesman clarified.
The permit indicates the number of days and places allowed for the visit. There is also a requirement of police reporting by every passenger.
“All citizens of India and Pakistan, but no third country nationals, can use this route for travel within the territory of the erstwhile state of J&K, including Gilgit and Baltistan. However, the receiving authority reserves the right and discretion to deny entry, and to specify which particular places are allowed, in each case, to be visited,” the spokesman said.
Asked if any Indian law would be violated if the Kashmiri travellers strayed into Pakistan from Azad Kashmir, the spokesman replied: “How can an Indian law apply in any case in another country? So, I do not think that sort of an argument can lead us to any conclusive result. Indian law in any case applies within India. What is applicable here is an agreed and explicit understanding between the two countries. So any other thing would be contrary to this understanding.” If Pakistan does invite the Hurriyat leaders from Azad Kashmir into Lahore or Islamabad, would India consider that as a hostile act or a breach of understanding?
“That is a speculative question,” the spokesman said.
