The compulsion of former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah is intriguing because despite the government declining his advice number of times, the octogenarian Kashmiri leader time and again keeps on ranting for holding dialogue with Pakistan to find an ultimate panacea with regard to the Kashmir issue. Strangely, when throwing such unsolicited advice to Indian leadership his statements never contain a single word of advice to Pakistan and its terror structure to shun their unreasonable approach towards Kashmir. Farooq Abdullah never expressed a word of concern on what Pakistan is doing in the illegally occupied part of Jammu and Kashmir including Galgit-Baltistan. It is on record that Farooq had a soft corner for even China who had snatch substantial part of erstwhile Jammu Kashmir state by force itself and by intrigue with Pakistan where it has been constructing it ambitious China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in flagrant violation of international law and India's sovereignty..
Since the breaking of their political hegemony in J&K by the Centre, the NC, the PDP and such of their ilk have been restless without power and they leave no chance to keep themselves politically relevant by raking up unnecessary issues in total contravention of India's current foreign policy on Pakistan that ‘terror and talks cannot go together.' The Modi government has taken many innate issues concerning Kashmir and many related problems have been rectified by the Centre in the last nine years. Although what is being trumpeted by the Centre, J&K Administration and its security officials on the restoration of complete normalcy and other developments are short of objective perceptions of the situation available on the matrix of Jammu Kashmir. Sporadic violence is still running parallel and Security Forces encounters with terrorists on an almost regular basis are also the part and parcel of daily life in the Valley.
Targeted killing, traumatizing migrant labourers by spree of violence and many other factors not only show that Kashmir is still fragile as far as return of peace is concerned though a breakthrough has been made by the Centre and it could be hoped that if things continue to move in the same direction soon peace and tranquillity can take over. But declaring normalcy as of today will not be advisable because like on many occasions in the past, the violence mongers' presence is not even denied by the cops and other security forces as fierce encounters testify that much more has to be achieved before giving the clarion call of end of terrorism in J&K. Administration could not restore the trust of youth that desperately jobless and government channels of recruitment badly stuck midway.
The restlessness shown by Farooq Abdullah regarding talks with Pakistan suggests that Farooq has no realisation on India's efforts in the past to normalise the relations with its hostile neighbour. Instead, in the past India shared pleasantries with its Pakistani counterparts but sadly on all occasions what it got in return were Terror Attacks and Kargil. Any sane entity will show no interest in dwelling into such initiative which is likely to end up unsuccessfully.
There must be certain overt and covert benefits which the NC leadership is expecting out of talks with Pakistan but the centre is in no mood to oblige such gestures, as already the country had tremendously suffered during and after the talks with Pakistan on earlier occasions.
Notably, not only the National Conference, even other political parties like PDP, CPI (M), ANC, Peoples Conference always advocated a dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Does Farooq Abdullah not know the Centre's stand on talks with Pakistan or he invariably indulges into tweaking centre for embarrassment. It is always the prerogative of the Centre to decide on the aforesaid issue although it could take leads from local parties like NC or any other but the final call should be taken after carrying out comprehensive review as getting impulsive like Farooq Abdullah on such significant issues is not in the interest of the country.
