Political leaders from both sides of the LoC in Kashmir held two rounds of talks heralded as "Heart To Heart" in September 2005. Undoubtedly, this was a historic event. It was the first time ever that intra-Kashmiri talks were held. Although unofficial, it had the active support of the Indian and Pakistani governments. Secondly, the deliberations were indeed straightforward and candid. Political leaders from various parties in India, including the BJP, Congress, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference took part along with smaller regional parties like Jammu Mukti Morcha (with an agenda for an independent Jammu state) and Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), led by Prof. Bhim Singh. Prof. Singh organised these talks.

All the visiting political leaders from PoK's various parties unanimously supported the continuation of CBMs between India and Pakistan. The delegates firmly believed that the situation was fast changing because of the continuous popular pressure from both countries. Second, the delegation also endorsed that the All-Party Hurriyat Conference of J&K was not the sole representative of the entire J&K state, though they agreed that the Hurriyat does have an important role to play in the ongoing peace process. Prof. Mohd Abdul Razzak Khan Khalique, President of National Awami Party, PoK, while commenting upon Hurriyat's representative character remarked, "Even as India and Pakistan are holding talks with Hurriyat, the latter does not represent Jammu as well as Ladakh." Third, the leaders dismissed the charges levelled by a section of the media that the heart-to-heart talks between political leaders from both sides of the LoC were an attempt to sideline and sabotage the ongoing talks between Hurriyat and the Indian Prime Minister. Fourth, every leader and intellectual who participated in the conference condemned the terrorist violence in J&K and pressed for a peaceful solution to the problem.

The "heart-to-heart' talks also had its problems. Nirmal Singh, the President of J&K BJP unit questioned the utility of such talks when terrorist violence was going on unabated in J&K with Pakistani support. A section expressed that the accession of J&K to India cannot be reviewed at any cost and also accused the PoK leaders of soft posturing and not exerting enough pressure on the Pakistani government to close terrorist camps operating in PoK. However, the visiting delegation was of the opinion that reunification of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state was the only solution to the complex problem. Some other alternative solutions like establishing a cultural confederation of the erstwhile J&K state suggested by Mohd. Farooq Khan, Convenor of Civil Society Organisation, Muzaffrabad, and formation of a confederation with minimum control of New Delhi and Islamabad, suggested by Abdul Razzak Khalique generated healthy debate.

The heart-to-heart talks are important and should be seen as a parallel process to strengthen the efforts by Manmohan Singh and Parvez Musharraf, including the recent meeting on 16 September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Session. Interestingly the joint statement issued after the meeting did not mention the 'K' word. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Chairman of APHC, who was also in New York to attend the meeting of the IOC, was critical of this omission. Nevertheless, in his speech at the IOC (where Hurriyat has the status of an observer) the Mirwaiz reiterated Musharraf's stand on demilitarising Kashmir as a stepping-stone towards a peaceful solution to the Kashmir problem.

A major surprise and shift in Pakistan's policy after the New York meetings between the Mirwaiz and Musharraf was the general's statement to the media where he invited mainstream political leaders like J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayyeed and National Conference President Omer Abdullah (NC has maximum number of MLAs, i.e. 26 in the 87 member J&K legislative Assembly). This could also be seen as an attempt by the general to balance the equation of political leaders on both sides of the LoC, especially when PoK's mainstream political leaders were already in J&K. Although no official invitation has been extended to these leaders by Pakistan until now, the J&K CM Mufti Sayyeed has already gone on record terming this invitation (if it comes) as the greatest CBM between the two countries. Musharraf's statement in New York is of great significance. It is for the first time that Pakistan has acknowledged the legitimacy of the popularly elected government in J&K and has approved of the representative character of the democratic process in Kashmir. J&K today has a three-tier representative set up - the Panchayats at the village level, the Municipalities in towns and cities and the Legislative Assembly. This can also be seen as an indication to the future strategy of the two countries where the Hurriyat's role as a major negotiator may be minimised, a stand already made clear by the visiting PoK political leaders.

Popular sentiments of the people have finally echoed in the Valley of Kashmir and the perceptions on both sides of the LoC are fast changing in order to facilitate an acceptable and honourable solution to the Kashmir imbroglio.