From Pak with war: Malik brings up new front

By meeting Hafiz Saeed in Islamabad, Yasin Malik has ousted his militant card

Trithesh Nandan/For The Goan | 16th February 2013, 11:39 am

In the name of struggle for Kashmir’s “azaadi”, Yasin Malik,the chief of one faction of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), wearsmany hats. He was a key member of Pakistan’s anti-India tactics in the late1980s and early 1990s — dubbed ‘Operation Topac’, it was meant to bleed andBalkanise India. He was also among the first persons who took up arms for an‘azaad’ Kashmir under the active guidance of Pakistan.

In 1994, Malik had a change of heart, though, when he unilaterallydeclared ceasefire and became an important member for the struggle by forming apolitical front: the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Since the late1990s, he has admitted in some media interviews that he supports Gandhianstruggle in the Valley — ironically, he met Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief andLashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed in Islamabad during a fast, a la Gandhi, toprotest Afzal Guru’s hanging.

But at the same time, and despite what many would callsubterfuge Gandhianism, Malik has tactfully played into the hands of Pakistaniintelligence.

Despite his change of heart over the last 18 years or so, asa student of militancy, Malik’s heart and mind has ostensibly never left themilitant training indoctrinated by the Pakistan’s ISI. Rather, he wore it onhis sleeves. And the latest evidence that his ‘militant card’ is still intactis his sharing the dais with Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of 26/11terror attacks on Mumbai, in Islamabad on Sunday.

Having created uproar in India, the incident has led todemands for seizure and cancellation of Malik’s Indian passport. While thereare indications that he would not be reissued a passport — Malik gets hispassport on a yearly basis to meet his Pakistani wife Mushal Malik, and it expiresnext month — the JKLF chief himself has pooh-poohed the demands to revoke it.“If (the) Indian government has decided to revoke my passport (and) put me injail, then it’s their wish. Jail has been my second home,” Malik has said asdemands for action against him have snowballed.

In Kashmir’s separatist politics, it matters if you are inregular touch with Pakistani officials (read ISI) — and if you manage to meetterrorists like Saeed, then your career graph will only rise. That’s why APHCleaders frequently get red-carpet welcome in Pakistan. In nearly two decades,Malik has perfected the art of pursuing this ‘militant card’ under the garb of‘Gandhian struggle’.

In September 2011, when Afzal Guru’s execution was hanging,thanks to the “politics of capital punishment” prevailing in Indian polity,Malik had said at a press conference in Srinagar: “The people of Kashmir haveconsciously and collectively moved away from violence to non-violence. Therehas been a collective transition from violence to non-violence…. I appeal toall political shades in India not to force Kashmiris into another extendedphase of violence by hanging Afzal Guru.”

So what was the whole action about the protest against AfzalGuru’s execution in Islamabad, anti-India speeches there and sharing the daiswith the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack? There is a view that Maliktrying to score brownie points from Pakistan’s army and ISI officials by tryingto show he is the best bet for them to deal with the Kashmir issue. With some other,newer leaders from the Valley also said to be enjoying the confidence of ISIfor the Kashmir struggle, Malik is seen as trying to outsmart such‘competitors’ by befriending a terrorist like Saeed.

Only last month, Saeed had said in an interview with Reutersthat India was trying to destabilise Pakistan and had predicted that theviolence in Kashmir could turn “ugly”. In the last few months, Saeed has sethis eyes on Kashmir to stay relevant for the Pakistani army and ISI.

For India, which is already grappling with a volatilePakistan, this new bonhomie between Yasin Malik and Hafiz Saeed could be atesty issue. Is New Delhi strong enough to put a lid on it? While Ajmal Kasaband Afzal Guru’s executions do show some signs, only time will tell whether theUPA government keep up the aggression as elections draw closer. 

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