The path to peace in the Kashmir valley seem rough, and really tough. The state witnessed its bloodiest night on Tuesday, August 1, with over a hundred killings in a matter of hours. However, hope still breathes. There is enough international pressure on everyone involved to find a solution to the Kashmir crisis. There is, for instance, America's involvement in resolving the dispute. US President Clinton spoke to Prime Minister Vajpayee on Wednesday, assuring him that he would speak to General Musharraf about the carnage. Interestingly, the Hizbul Mujahiddin's ceasefire was announced when Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed met US officials in Washington. The Jamaat is the controlling power behind the Hizb. Clinton's eagerness in Kashmir may not arise just from his personal ambition to earn a name in history as an international peacemaker. The CIA has apparently warned the US administration that India could be preparing to conduct more nuclear tests. That promptly raises the hackles in Western think-tanks about Kashmir being a nuclear flashpoint. On the ground, the talkative Hizbul commander, Abdul Majid Dar, has been getting all the attention. He announced the ceasefire last week, and has been taking every opportunity to demonstrate that he is in command. That, we think, should be of concern to the Hizbul's supreme commander, Syed Salahuddin. The differences between the two men are wellknown. Till recently, despite Salahuddin's insistence, Dar spent a lot of time in the Hizb's Muzaffarabad office in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, visiting the valley on and off. Those who have been keeping track of Dar say he sticks to PoK more out of his love for his wife, than out of fear of the security forces in the valley. Dr Shamima Badroo, Mrs Dar, is a physician at the combined military hospital at Muzaffarabad, and has in the past accused Salahuddin and his adherents of shunting her husband out of PoK. For the time being, Dar will stay in the valley, overseeing the ceasefire, and working out its modalities. After that is done, the confusion will begin. Will the All Party Hurriyat Conference leaders defy Pakistan and discuss peace with Indian officials? Or will the Hizbul leaders emerge from hiding to talk to the Indian side? The Centre hopes the talks will be held between senior home ministry officials and the militants's representatives. If the rebels demand someone from outside government, then senior journalist R K Mishra, editor-in-chief of the Reliance-run Observer group of newspapers, could be appointed as the prime minister's special envoy on Kashmir affairs. Mishra, a former Rajya Sabha MP, has met with Hurriyat leaders for some time now. While the limelight is on Home Secretary Kamal Pandey and Special Secretaries T R Kakkar and M B Kaushal of the home ministry, there is one man behind the government's every move. One official without whose consent the present government would not dare plan any move on Kashmir. Research and Analysis Wing chief A S Daulat is the brain behind most of the government's Kashmir initiatives. The RAW chief handled Kashmir for a long time during his tenure in the Intelligence Bureau. Everyone from the prime minister to J&K Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah listens to him. It is very rare that someone questions this Kashmir veteran's observations. The only time he was snubbed was when he accompanied Mishra to Srinagar to talk to Hurriyat leaders. Hurriyat chief Professor Abdul Ghani Bhat had then asked Daulat to leave the room. There is none better than Dr Abdullah to attest to Daulat's Kashmir credentials. There are enough stories floating around the capital's corridors of power about the role Daulat played in Farooq becoming chief minister of the troubled state four years ago. Josy Joseph's series on the IPKF in Sri Lanka, India's Vietnam, attracted international attention. Tell us what you think of this diary
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