During his talks with Ayub, the Sheikh vaguely mentioned both the ideas of a confederation and a federation. The field-marshal rejected them out of hand, as he has recorded in his memoirs Friends, Not Masters. However, on one point Ayub and Abdullah were agreed: that the Kashmir issue must be resolved, and that Nehru and Ayub were the two leaders who could do this and “sell” the “compromise solution” to their respective countries. On the evening of May 26, the Sheikh announced that a meeting between Nehru and Ayub would take place in New Delhi in June, and that he (Abdullah) would “not be far from the conference table”.

The expectations this aroused were tempered with skepticism. On the morning of May 27, however, excitement was high. For, Sher-e-Kashmir was going to ‘Azad’ Kashmir, and the Pakistan government had reluctantly allowed Indian journalists to accompany him. Our instructions were stern. “Be at Sheikh Sahib’s place at 7.30. The journey will begin at 8 am sharp”. We ought to have known better. In the best subcontinental tradition, nothing happened for a few hours. We were saved from boredom by cordial conversations with Pakistani hosts and an endless supply of tea, coffee and delectable kebabs.

Asrar Ahmed, a Pakistani colleague, asked me whether something worthwhile would come out of the Nehru-Ayub talks. With my unfailing knack for stressing the obvious, I replied that it all depended on how much time Nehru had. Whereupon Asrar and others exclaimed in unison, “May Allah prolong his life”. As if on cue, Hafeez Jullundari — the nearest thing Pakistan had to the poet laureate as well as a sort of minister-in-waiting during the Sheikh’s stay — stalked up to our table and sat down. Wagging his finger, he told me: “Inder Malhotra, you people have had a long ride feeling superior to us because you were lucky to have Nehru. Our misfortune was that after the early deaths of Jinnah and Liaquat, all our leaders were useless. Now Nehru is about to go. You will be down to our level, and then we will see”. All the Pakistanis around the table were horrified. They started remonstrating with the renowned poet but their attempt was drowned in the sudden flurry and noise. Sheikh Sahib had come down and everyone was being directed to his or her vehicle.

... contd.