Once again National Conference President and former Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah on Monday pitched for autonomy not only to Jammu and Kashmir alone but also to other Kashmir which is a Pakistan occupied territory. Leaders have been making such wishful thinking earlier also but the situation on the ground has not changed much. He referred to the wars of the past and continued border skirmishes, saying these have only added to the miseries of people of Kashmir, who have faced major brunt of turmoil during the past over two and half decades. He said denial of autonomy has brought Jammu and Kashmir to present morass, which if ignored anymore can prove detrimental to larger interests of the State. In this context, he referred to the resolution passed by the Legislative Assembly over a decade and half ago, saying that was reflective of the urges and aspirations of the regions and sub-regions of the State. Earlier in June 2005, the Union Cabinet had “unanimously” rejected the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly resolution seeking to restore the pre-1953 constitutional position in the State as it felt that “acceptance of the resolution would set the clock back and reverse the natural process of harmonising the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the integrity of the nation”. At that time the Union Home Minister, L.K Advani had pointed out that the Cabinet was of the view that the issue of restoring the constitutional situation in Jammu and Kashmir to its pre-1953 position had been discussed in detail by the former Chief Minister, late Sheikh Abdullah, with the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi in 1974-75. Talking of soft borders and opening up of people to people contact for brining in the elusive peace to the State which was ruled by his party for almost for more than four decades of its existence of over six decades is a wishful thinking of the National Conference leader. It is not that he is not aware of complications behind such a move but to talk in public forum about such issues shows how political leaders and parties are running out of ideas to keep their vote banks intact especially when one is not in the ruling side.
