Jammu, August 21: The appointment of Prof Amitabh Matoo, the former Vice Chancellor of Jammu University and a world renowned political strategist as Advisor to Chief Minister at a time when Indo-Pak talks and role of separatists is gathering much heat is a matured and politically strategic move by the Mufti lead coalition government to enhance its credibility and utilize one of the finest brains to help resolve the Kashmir situation.
Prof Amitabh Mattoo who has been active in track-two diplomacy and has earlier also played a significant role in the political developments of Jammu and Kashmir is considered one of the best political and diplomatic strategist as far as Jammu and Kashmir situation is considered as he is the person who has acceptability among all the sections of the society including separatists for his unbiased and well known views on resolution of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prof Mattoo has been actively participating in local, national and international seminars of conflict resolution having visited almost all the strategic places in the world considered important for the conflict resolution including, POK, Pakistan and Afghanistan during his endeavors as a strategist in track two diplomacy as also having remained associated with National Knowledge Commission and more recently India Australia institute.
It is believed that Mattoo’s appointment, which was speculated for a long time since Mufti took over the reins of the government in the state, is a master stroke by the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed to bring home the point that he has some serious plans for the resolution of Kashmir imbroglio in mind.
The appointment is also seen in the light that even central government must have been taken into confidence considering Matoo’s clout among the top bureaucratic and political circles of central government.
For a common man on street the news came as a fresh breath of air as Mattoo is synonymous with quality control that he introduced in Jammu University during his stint as its Vice Chancellor which saw Jammu University taking a flight to greater heights.
Mattoo is credited with bringing some of the great and most modern innovations into the working of Jammu University connecting it with other renowned international Universities.
It was due to his efforts that Jammu University became India first ISO 9001:2000 University and a centre by CERN was put up here to monitor the results during the Big Bang experiment of Large Hadron Collider which was a global phenomenon.
The Gen Zorawar Singh auditorium which is the first ever global standard auditorium was his brain child thus making Mattoo a popular figure among the youth in Jammu.
Prof Matoo was also one of the key figures to negotiate controversial Amarnath land transfer which saw one of the biggest agitations’ in Jammu.
Similarly Mattoo has got tremendous following among Kashmiri youth who had even offered him the role of vice chancellor of Kashmir University when there were some murmurs among an insignificant section against his re-appointment as Vice chancellor of CUJ.
Political observers feel that Mattoo who has been given a Cabinet Ministers rank would bring some major changes in the international political developments of Jammu and Kashmir particularly formulating a policy to deal with the separatism, Pakistan, militancy and rehabilitation of Kashmir Pandits in valley.
The observers feel that Mattoo’s universal acceptability would play a great role in his advices to the Chief Minister as far as Jammu and Kashmir’s international outlook is considered as Mattoo is held in high esteem even in the other part of Kashmir.
Time will only tell how far the optimism of the people proves right.