'Giving Peace A Chance'

Joint New Year message to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Parvez Musharraf byChairman, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Srinagar

To

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
Republic of India

President Parvez Musharaf
Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Your Excellencies,

As we bid farewell to 2003 and usher in 2004, I would like to convey my sincere greetings and well wishes forthe New Year. The beginning of a New Year is always a time to for introspection and contemplation over thepast as well as an opportunity to look forward and envision new possibilities and changes. It presents eachand every person with an opportunity to focus on making necessary changes for the better for which a newresolve and determination is required. For leaders of nations and peoples, this perennial moment ofintrospection must be applied towards an earnest reflection upon the overall situation and condition facingmillions of countrymen. A new vision for the future and a new resolve is to be mustered for the benefit andwelfare of the people. As leaders of India and Pakistan, as statesmen, you are presented with such atremendous responsibility. In this regards, I would like to share some of my thoughts and concerns.

As the New Year enters, it will again dawn upon a South Asia that is facing dire tribulations. The problemsof poverty, illiteracy, and illness - the challenges of development - continue to afflict hundreds of millionsof people. Yet the most pressing threat to the welfare of the people of South Asia is entirely avoidable: thatis, the continuing legacy of conflict and animosity that the unresolved Kashmir Dispute continues to spawn.After more than five decades the specter of war is still hanging over us all. It is this conflict thatcontinues to widen the gulf between the great peoples of South Asia and it is this conflict that is sappingthe creative and human potential of the peoples of South Asia to achieve a bright and prosperous future.Indeed, my people, the people of Kashmir have suffered this tragedy the most - words cannot express to whatextent this has been the case. Therefore, as the New Year enters, it will also dawn upon a South Asia whosepeople continue to be in need of the cures that only peace can provide.

I believe that both of you have firmly grasped the pressing need to initiate a peace process on Kashmir andhave voiced statesmen-like wisdom on this, the likes of which have been seldom heard from Indian and Pakistanileaders, and what is more, from two leaders sitting in the highest offices of India and Pakistan at the sametime.

Prime Minister Vajpayee, I would like to recall your reflections on this matter that you shared with theworld from Kumarakom on January 2, 2001 in which you firmly committed yourself to finding a durable solutionto the Kashmir Problem. I deeply appreciate that you have promised to apply no less than visionarystatesmanship towards this task when you declared: "We shall not traverse solely on the beaten track ofthe past. Rather, we shall be bold and innovative designers of a future architecture of peace and prosperityfor the entire South Asian region".

President Musharaf, I would also like to recall your repeated statements of recent in which you have calledfor a peace process on Kashmir in which both India and Pakistan would show flexibility by going beyond statedpositions. I also deeply appreciate the statesmanship evident in your bold calling for a step-wise peaceprocess, which would yield a win-win-win solution acceptable to India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir.

It is a matter of hope to me that I find in your respective public commitments a certain kindred urge forpeace and a shared appreciation that a peace process on Kashmir will require statesmen-like resolve and newcreativity.

It is perhaps auspicious then that both of you will have a chance to meet so soon in the New Year duringthe upcoming SAARC Summit. While there are extremist on all sides that may oppose such a bold move on yourparts, I urge both of you to seize this opportunity to now translate your visionary words into visionarydeeds. It is my sincere wish that you would now open a new chapter in the history of South Asia byimplementing your respective public commitments to begin a peace process that would yield a lasting and justsolution to the Kashmir Dispute, one which would be in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir.

Given our firm stand that the people of Kashmir can only decide the future of Kashmir we have alwaysopposed - and will always oppose - any attempts by India and Pakistan to decide Kashmir without the people ofKashmir. To convey this, we have organized protests and strikes whenever Indian and Pakistani leaders haveheld talks portending to cover Kashmir. However, we have decided not to protest at this time with an eyetowards giving peace a chance and in hopes of encouraging an opening between India and Pakistan for a broaderpeace process. Instead, I would like to convey a message of earnest support and convey my earnest request thatyou meet and resolve to undertake a peace process that will also effectively and meaningfully involve thepeople of Kashmir in finding an agreeable solution to all parties.

It is my firm belief that the principle of the inclusion of the people of Kashmir is the missing ingredientfor a complete vision for a workable peace process. If a peace process is to be just and sustainable, it mustbe accepted that Kashmir is not a territorial dispute; it is about the future and aspirations of living peoplein Kashmir. It is the reality of loss and injustice faced by the Kashmiri population and the very deep andreal Kashmiri aspiration for freedom and justice that encompass the major substantive component of the KashmirDispute. Being the real victims and subjects of this dispute, the Kashmiris have a rightful, necessary, andconstructive role to play in the peace process. No solution on Kashmir will be lasting unless it is legitimatein the eyes of the people of Kashmir. Quite simply, I submit that the key to finding an agreeablemiddle-ground that will be a win-win-win solution for India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir is to involvethe credible and legitimate representatives of the people of Kashmir in the peace process.

This is not simply my own request; it is the expectation of millions of my fellow Kashmiris who stronglyshare this yearning that Kashmiris should be involved in the process to develop a shared vision for a peacefuland just future. Indeed, this is the simple message that has already been endorsed by hundreds of thousands ofKashmiris through the ongoing Signature Campaign that we have been carrying out at the grassroots in Kashmir.Over the last 6 months, more than 800,000 Kashmiris have already endorsed a petition in this regard. For yourinspection, I enclose the signed petitions. This is the true voice of the people of Kashmir- men and women,young and old. Kashmiris must be involved in the peace process and we will continue this campaign so thatmillions will back this message. We are firmly determined to continue all nonviolent efforts until theresounding voice of the people of Kashmir can no longer be ignored.

I anticipate that your Excellencies will accept the logic and fairness of this demand in principle as it isin keeping with the progressive and visionary nature of your respective public commitments to peace. As youcontinue the process of confidence-building and advance towards a composite dialogue, we request you toundertake serious efforts to evolve a new mechanism for involving the people of Kashmir so that India,Pakistan and the people of Kashmir can truly become partners in the search for peace. This will give thefledgling process new impetus and momentum, for which you will find every kind of support from the people ofKashmir.

It is my hope that 2004 will mark a momentous watershed for peace and stability in South Asia and it is myresolve for the New Year that Kashmiris will definitely contribute positively and constructively towards thisachievement.

Sincerely yours,

Mohammad Yasin Malik
Chairman, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)
Srinagar