Omar Abdullah not enthusiastic about bus link

This man is chief minister in waiting, and you can see why.

While the world is riveted by the unique story that is unfolding in the border town of Uri, Omar Abdullah, leader of the opposition National Conference and a realist can only see "cautious optimism".

"The people have seen too many initiatives that start and stop for there to be the kind of enthusiasm that is being portrayed by some sections of the media," said Omar Abdullah.

"A few People's Democratic Party [the ruling PDP] workers bursting fire-crackers does not translate into euphoria," he added.

"There's a general sense of goodwill no doubt. But there are no people lining up for application forms. There were more people queuing for mobile phones than forms to travel on the bus. These threats have not helped.

"What it means is that people are less likely to subject themselves to this kind of thing. They want to see how it is going to work out, whether the vetting process gets any easier, the frequency, and more importantly where we go from here," he said.

"Firstly, there have been no indications so far of the promised economic benefits that could accrue if goods and cargo are allowed to be transported through the border crossing.

"Secondly, this is only one step of many towards the final resolution of the Kashmir issue. It's not just the bus and that's it."

Abdullah is also more than a little upset over the manner in which Pakistan rejected the proposal for an all party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir to travel on the bus.

"If Pakistan had accepted a visit by this kind of a political delegation it would have been a huge step forward on their part. So far they've called us a 'puppet government,' 'puppet ministers'," Abdullah said.

"They've never accepted the legitimacy of mainstream politicians. So what made anybody think that anything had changed. Which is why I think the decision to reject our nominations was meant as a face-saver for the Hurriyat which has gone remarkably quiet on the whole issue."

Abdullah believes that the extent of the divided families is grossly exaggerated. "Uri has a mere handful. At the most Kashmir would have 10,000-15,000 families, and they are not looking at the later stages but only families divided in 1947."

Abdullah said that as recently as 1990, three-fourths of the families from Keran village on the Kishanganga (Neelum in Pakistan) river, on the LoC, crossed over to the other side including his NC party's block development officer, who is now a politician in Muzaffarabad.

"What happens after the ten thousandth family has travelled across? Will it end there? The purpose of the bus is to widen people to people contact. But if Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi can come here, and our Punjab's Amarinder Singh can go over, but they won't let Kashmiri politicians go across, it's clear that Pakistan wants to downplay it. They are deeply uncomfortable with it."