I am writing this column during the middle of 18th Session of UN Human Rights Council taking place in Geneva. It started on 12 September and would end on 30th September 2011. Whatever guise we may wear and blanket it with any strength of budget it remains without doubt that there is no single opinion on Kashmir at the UN in Geneva. The regulars sent from Islamabad and their routine do more disservice than any service to the cause.
 
One would normally feel encouraged to see Mirwaiz Umar Farooq chairman Hurriyat (M) take part in any parallel activity organised by any NGO in the cause of the people of Kashmir at the UN in Geneva. It would be a greater pleasure to see if the Kashmiri leaders or any other notable has a credible host, credible panel and a listening audience. At times the audience is driven by a desire to have the sandwich and the refreshment.
 
Mirwaiz attended the parallel activity on 13 September 2011 which was organised by ICHR (previously known as KCHR) and IHRAAM on Human Rights and Peaceful Protest. The press statements issued by KCEU (host) and the office of Mirwaiz fail to reconcile the substantive interests of various principals. In addition to Mirwaiz one notices two other chairpersons of Kashmiri origin, namely, chairman ICHR and chairman JF and four other panellists shared the stage with Mirwaiz. If Mirwaiz travels to UN Human Rights Commissions in Geneva in his private capacity one would not be bothered about the merits of the event, credentials of the host, manner of audience and the result. However, if we agree that Mirwaiz has travelled in his representative capacity, then of course, he remains answerable for the merits of the event, credentials of the host, manner of audience and the result.
 
Unlike Mirwaiz who holds the representative character of chairman on behalf of an alliance in Kashmir, the chairman ICHR and chairman FC are two employees and their institutions work on the principle of “pay as you go”. It is equally important that the two chairmen working as employees in ICHR and FC have been named in the FBI affidavit used by FBI in bringing a criminal charge against Dr. G N Fai in US District Court for Eastern District of Virginia. These two Kashmiris have to engineer a show to keep their employment and have no choice but to hire speakers and at times rent an audience. The event on 13th September was in no manner diferent. It was poor show and lacked in merit.
 
One would have expected that the hosts would not abuse the event to gloss the paint which has started falling off from their ceilings due to evidence made public by FBI and other press revelation in London. Even if the hosts had used their hospitality to encroach upon the representative character of the Hurriyat (M) chairman, Mirwaiz carried an embedded political, moral and legal obligation to reach out to other Kashmiris from AJK who have a representative character and their part of merit at the UN.
 
It seemed that the other two chairmen who shared the paltform with Mirwaiz and their employer for self-serving reasons had failed to update the Hurriyat chair that he needed to benefit from JKCHR documents A/HRC/18/NGO/20 and A/HRC/18?NGO/21 received by UN Secretary General and circulated as UN documents at the session. One document which would have helped him covered the subject on which the seminar was held (Human Rights and Peaceful Protest) and the other was on “Water” resource of Kashmir.
 
While in Srinagar, Mirwaiz had been very vocal and critical about the depletion of the natural resources of Kashmir. It was unfortunate to see that he failed to reinforce his political narrative by making a reference to JKCHR documents and set an example that he was not restrained by any “pay as you go” agenda. Although one would not let the imagination run so wild and attribute to him that Mirwaiz may have been handicapped by the constraints of hospitality but submission to any such pressure invalidates his representative character as chairman Hurriyat (M). The fact that majority of Kashmiris from AJK at the session stayed away from the event organised by ICHR and IHRAAM should have been a concern for our Kashmir leader. He should not have supported the effort made by the establishment to seek a further accreditation for their appointed ‘cahirpersons’ at a time when the merits of their work in Kashmir have lost the moral anchor.
 
It was out of respect to Mirwaiz and out of courtesy to the organisers of the event that I decided to endure a very unrelated and poor presentation made by four other speakers. Three of them made no reference to Kashmir and the fourth one had the “K” word in her narrative. It was a surprise to note that (may be to impress) chairman ICHR introduced one speaker namely Ronald Barnes as ambassador. It may be that the two other chairmen of Kashmiri origin wanted to impress the third chairman that there was one ambassador on the panel as well.
 
The imapct of FBI affidavit and other revelations in press seemed to be writ large on three faces including Dr. Karen Parker. It was for the first time in my 21 year long work experience at the UN that I saw Karen unwilling to share the Kashmiri platform and when asked she surprised me even more when she informed us that she was ‘double booked’ and would not be staying at the Kashmiri event for long. She made a fast track presentation and disappeared.
 
The question that should haunts us all is the appearance of one faction of Hurriyat at these international events and the manner in which Hurriyat M leadership has been discharging their public trust. Mirwaiz may have had more than million noble intentions before he left the Valley to advocate the case of Kashmiri people, he has not succeeded to address himself in equity and in good faith the case, the people and the habitat. It seemed that he was like any other hired speaker brought to help a few people to fool Kashmiris, Pakistanis, Indians, Kashmiri diaspora and the international community that in addition to Hurriyat chairman, the other three chairmen, namely chairman ICHR, chairman JF and charman KAC were in fact advocating the case of Kashmir in reference to the people and leadership of Kashmir. It remains to be clarified that before the event the three chairmen used to carry themselves as Executive Directors of Kashmir Centre London, Kashmir Centre Brussels and Kashmir Centre Washington.
 
Titles in Kashmir politics are free for all and up for a grab. Chairman ICHR, instantly has another impressive title – Sarparsat-e-ala JKLF Raj Bagh. One fails to understand where does he fit along side with Yasin Malik, Amanullah Khan and many other JKLF factions. I am sure Mirwaiz by appearing at this event does not mean to make a political statement for us all that after doing so poorly in militancy, politics and diplomacy, we have now decided to accept the decision of Islamabad to bear with a new species of employed chairmen to interpret Kashmir case in a manner mostly left to hired speakers and rented audience. It would not be of any one’s bother if the rights of the people of Kashmir were not in balance. It has to be our bother because the script of militancy, politics and diplomacy mostly written by friends of unreliable understanding of Kashmir case has caused us the death of a generation and the death of self-determination. We have been discredited around the world as people paid to do all kinds of things. There are allegations that Kashmir politics is as filthy as Dal Lake and that Kashmiri politicians take money as an article of faith.
 
Our leaders need money and there are Kashmiri monies pending with the governments of India and Pakistan since 1947. Pakistan receives additional money from OIC countries in the name of Kashmir. Therefore, these monies could be claimed back and used for the cause of Kashmir. However, the manner in which the present political system on either side of LoC (Valley in particular) and the chairmen in London, Brussels and Washington are appointed by the establishment in Islamabad does not earn us any better honour than the accusations made in FBI affidavit and Wikileaks.
 
Hurriyat M owes us an explanation in regard to the appearance of its chairman alongside with two other chairmen at the Seminar in Geneva