CM Mufti has claimed she had discussed the issue with all political parties of J&K, but the Opposition denies that.
If newspaper reports are to be believed, the Union government, the Prime Minister’s Office in particular, was expecting the separatists — and not Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti — would demand ceasefire of anti-terror operations.
These reports said that a top security meeting was held earlier at the PMO and it was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The general view expressed during the meeting was that the separatists would ask for a ceasefire.
But the ground situation in the Kashmir valley forced CM Mehbooba to hold an all-party meeting and discuss the ways to end the cycle of violence. Their main worry was the continuing collateral damage at the encounter sites and the rising graph of civilian killings in South Kashmir.
“Mehbooba Mufti was very keen for some initiative for the ceasefire. Despite all odds, she was able to convince the Central leadership for the announcement of Ramzan ceasefire,” said PDP spokesman Rafi Ahmad Mir.
Even as most of the participants in the all-party meeting denied that ceasefire was discussed, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti maintains there was a consensus on it in the meeting.
Reports said that it was Centre’s interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma who played a role in ensuring the Ramzan ceasefire. Reports further said that Dineshwar Sharma was able to hold talks secretly with some Hurriyat leaders and the ceasefire proposal was also discussed. Professor Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Gani Lone came under media scrutiny for holding talks with Dineshwar Sharma — Mirwaiz even issued a show-cause notice to Professor Bhat to explain his meeting with Sharma.
If these reports are true, the task of Dineshwar Sharma to bring the separatists on board has been made difficult by Mehbooba Mufti. Dineshwar Sharma is working very hard on the ground to establish contacts with all the separatists and bring them on board so that the ceasefire becomes durable and sustainable.
The separatists have described the ceasefire announcement as a cruel joke with the people of Kashmir. Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has asked the Centre and the state government what will happen after Eid. He said that instead of such temporary measures, the Central government should start a serious dialogue on Kashmir.
Terror outfit Laskhar-e-Toiba has already rejected the ceasefire proposal and on Friday it had a brief gunfight with soldiers in Hajin area of North-West Bandipora district. Hizbul Mujahideen has so far remained silent.
Dineshwar Sharma, according to reports, has now the task of bringing all the parties on board so that the government can take further steps for making the ceasefire comprehensive and result-oriented.
CM Mehbooba Mufti has asserted that she will facilitate the process of dialogue between the Central government and the separatists, but so far separatists have refused to respond positively to her proposal.