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| NC turns pro-Army with a motive? | | Revocation of AFSPA | | Rustam
Jammu, Jan 8: The National Conference (NC), which had during the past four years hardly spoken a word in favour of the Army involved in anti-insurgency operations, yesterday spoke in its favour. The NC leaders like the Chief Minister's uncle and party additional general secretary and one of its Lok Sabha MPs had umpteen times criticized the Army and accused it of violating "human rights" of the people of Kashmir. The NC additional general secretary had even gone to the extent of accusing the Army of causing blasts in different parts of the Valley to create an impression that the situation there was abnormal so that it could defeat those demanding withdrawal of or amendment in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Even the Chief Minister criticized the Army a number of times and accused it of opposing his Government's stand on what he called the "draconian" AFSPA. The NC has been demanding revocation of the AFSPA from certain parts of the State saying the situation there has been peaceful for quite sometime now. The Chief Minister had approached the Union Government several times and asked it to withdraw the AFSPA from certain "peaceful" areas, but with no result. Only a few days ago, he accused the Army and certain political persons of frustrating his move. Kashmiri extremists and some other "mainstream" Kashmiri leaders have also been demanding withdrawal of the AFSPA and Public Safety Act (PSA).
Yesterday, suddenly the Chief Minister praised the Army and again reiterated his demand seeking "partial lifting of the AFSPA" urging "all stakeholders concerned to shed rigidity to help take a decision based on the ground situation and for the benefit of people of the State". "It's surprising that whenever we have talked about lifting of AFSPA, certain vested interests have been working overtime and making projections as if we want it to be removed from the entire State whereas we want it to be lifted from certain parts only," Chief Minister, who completed four years in office as the head of the NC-Congress coalition Government on January 4, said.
There was nothing new in what he said about the AFSPA. What, however, was new was what he said about the Army and its role in the State. Taking to task what he called "vested interests" for their claim that "partial withdrawal of AFSPA will see a rise in militancy", the Chief Minister asked "whom are they trying to fool"? and said: "This is an insult to the Army and other security agencies who are manning the border. Those propagating such an idea indirectly mean that Army is doing nothing. This is an absolute misinformation campaign launched to demoralize the Army, CRPF and State Police". That he would use such language for the Army and CRPF was never expected by anybody in the State.
Now, the question to be asked is: Why this sudden change in the attitude of the working president of the NC and head of the Government? Has he realized that if he has to succeed, he has to befriend the Army which has consistently opposed the demand seeking withdrawal of or an amendment to the AFSPA? Political observers feel that the Chief Minister's accusation that "vested interests have launched a misinformation campaign to demoralize the Army, CRPF and State Police" is "no more than a ploy used to make the Army and CRPF walk into his trap so that they support his demand". Whatever be the truth, the dramatic change in the attitude of the Chief Minister towards the Army does suggest that he has perhaps thought of some other methodology to achieve his goal. It is difficult to say if the Army would oblige him considering the prevailing security scenario in the Kashmir Valley and certain border areas in Jammu province and Kargil and Leh. |
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