- A dialogue with the Hurriyat;
- The unresolved passport issue.
It may now be difficult for the pmo, which has been scripting the Kashmir policy, to counter home minister L.K. Advani's contrary perception on the way the issue should be handled. It was the concerted objections of the hardliners, whom Advani represents, that persuaded Vajpayee to extend the ceasefire by three months—obviating the need to justify to the nation monthly extensions of a ceasefire that was offering diminishing returns.
It was also believed that three months would be enough for policymakers to bring the Hurriyat to the talking table. But, says a home ministry official, "for the next two months the government will be too preoccupied with the Tehelka tapes to think about Kashmir. A month has already elapsed, the next two will be spent countering the tehelka".
The current crisis also makes it more difficult for Vajpayee to concede a political framework that goes beyond what the government had rejected when Farooq Abdullah demanded greater autonomy for the state last year. With the bjp liberals besieged, it is inconceivable for the PM to risk the hardliners' wrath through an endorsement of a radical plan for Kashmir. After all, bjp activists have been raised on the staple of abolition of Article 370.
This will consequently strengthen the Advani-Abdullah axis, opposed to providing political space to the Hurriyat. Advani is dead-set against issuing passports to Hurriyat leaders. With the Tehelka controversy undermining his moral authority, Vajpayee may now be a bit handicapped when it comes to overriding Advani's objections. It was believed that the February extension would see New Delhi and the Hurriyat formally engaged in talks. But the controversy over Balco and charges of corruption against the pmo has left Vajpayee too busy defending his government to even think of Kashmir.
One clear message was almost missed in this politically raucous fortnight—UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said on Indian soil that the Kashmir issue couldn't be resolved through UN resolutions but through dialogue. With the oic, the US and the UK also signalling their preference for a solution through dialogue, the options before the Hurriyat appear to have diminished greatly. Ironically, Vajpayee's crisis of credibility comes just then.
