"The announcements made by Singh to solve the Kashmir tangle are indeed encouraging, but it is doubtful whether they would be followed by a committed government action, as the intelligence and defense agencies (would) like the issue to be resolved in the manner they want," said Iftikhar Gilani, a political analyst and expert in Kashmiri affairs.

Gilani said another reason, which has caused suspicion among Kashmiris, is the silence from the leaders of Singh's Congress Party, including its chief Sonia Gandhi, who has yet to respond to the result of the second roundtable conference held May 24-25.

In the past, the Indian defense and intelligence establishments have responded to any suggestion involving autonomy and increased power for the Kashmiri people with reservations and blocked their implementation, as they go against their preferred strategy.

The political parties and Kashmiri separatists have frequently complained to successive governments about the bureaucratic attitude, but no Indian premier has so far been able to remove this major stumbling block.

From the point of view of the Indian bureaucracy, the Kashmir issue is a problem of insurgency created by Pakistan. Their argument is that if the border province is granted autonomy or self-rule, it would further complicate the issue, as Pakistan would have a major say in any autonomous Kashmiri government.

At the end of the two-day roundtable conference to resolve the Kashmir issue, Singh formed five working groups to investiagte the different aspects of the dispute and come up with recommendations to be considered in the third roundtable talks.

The groups were assigned the task of studying the structure of Jammu and Kashmir's political relations with the federal government; the quality of governance; economic development; cross-border terrorism; and the mitigation of hardship caused by terrorism.

"It is the government's endeavor to put behind the tragic memories of the past while working to build a prosperous future for (Jammu and Kashmir)," Singh told the conference in his opening remarks.

Issuing a warning to the militants who attacked a public rally a day before the meeting, killing six people and injuring over a dozen, including the inspector general of the state police, Singh said attempts by some elements within the state to disrupt peace would be firmly thwarted.

"There are some elements within the state who do not wish this dream to become a reality. Their inhumane acts have cost many lives, destroyed many families. Who these elements are, we all know," Singh said.

Notwithstanding the boycott of the meeting by the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella group of different Kashmiri separatist outfits, all aspects of the Kashmiri problem were discussed.

Hurriyat, which had agreed to participate in the talks a month ago following a private meeting with Singh in Delhi, suddenly changed its stance and on May 23 announced its boycott of the meeting, saying 'crowds do not yield results.'

It was at the insistence of the separatist groups that the Interior Ministry extended the conference by one day because Hurriyat leaders dictated they would discuss the issue with the prime minister only in the absence of all others.

With the separatists abstaining, Singh held discussions with pro-Indian parties and groups, which the separatists called "a seminar" on Kashmir.

"The reality is that this roundtable conference was nothing more than a seminar. The impression was given about the talks was that the Kashmir issue is nothing more than discussion between the state and the centre," Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Farooq said.

Farooq said the Hurriyat Conference believes the only agenda of the meeting was the announcement of packages and subsidies. His party feels that Kashmir is not an internal issue and can only be resolves with the participation of India, Pakistan and people from both parts of Kashmir.

But analysts say Farooq's move to set up working groups bodes well for the future of the Kashmir peace process.

"Despite several hurdles and complications, Singh's declaration of setting up five working groups is a positive sign, which -- if implemented -- would go a long way and provide a mechanism for political actors to arrive at a shared vision of the future," Gilani said.

When the working groups are set in motion, representatives of the state will have an institutional apparatus from which a roadmap for democratic process could be drawn.

Related Links
-