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Menace of terrorism in Kashmir valley
Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014
8/1/2014 12:20:26 AM
Neha
JAMMU, July 31: It's true that Kashmir and other parts of the state have been witnessing terror attacks since late 1980s. It's also true that terrorists, Pakistani or Pakistani-sponsored and radical Islamists in Kashmir, disturbed the state's socio-religious and political equilibrium and caused displacement of population, including the forced migration of the miniscule minority of Kashmiri Hindus from the Valley to Jammu and other parts of the country. But it's also true that the number of those who played havoc in the Valley and a few other parts of the state was not so numerous. They were, and are, just handful. They could perpetrate barbarities on the minorities, cause disturbances and migration and disrupt political processes and economic activities because the state apparatus did not act.
The situation is no different even today. There are only 6 to 8 persons in Kashmir in and outside the Government who have been holding the state and the nation to ransom. Some of them include Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik and Shabir Ahmad Shah. They have been able to force shutdowns and strikes because the political establishment in the state has never discharged its obligations towards the state. Had the authorities acted on time or nipped the evil in the bud, the situation in the state in general and the pampered, over-developed and Kashmir and highly prosperous Kashmir valley would have been somewhat different. Indeed, the state apparatus has failed the people of the state and caused serious problems for the country in J&K.
Enough is enough. The state apparatus has caused enough of damage to the polity, society, nation and state. It has to discharge its duties and rid the state of undesirable elements using all available means and by invoking the relevant laws concerning national security, unity and integrity of the country and its sovereignty. If Pakistan, which is the mother of terrorism and epicenter of global terrorism and which has repeatedly bloodied and convulsed the Indian political scene, could legislate new anti-terror laws to protect its unity and integrity, why can't its victim New Delhi imitate Islamabad and come out with a comprehensive anti-terror law and why can't New Delhi direct the State Government to unleash a process aimed at bringing the handful of mercenaries like Mirwaiz, Malik, Geelani and Shah? It would not be out of place to mention here that only on July 2 this year, Pakistan National Assembly approved sweeping new powers for the country's security forces, with an anti-terrorism measure that the Government said was needed to combat the Taliban. It adopted the Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 ignoring the opposition from Jamait-ul-ulema-i-Islam (Fazal) and Jamaat-i-Islami. The Bill empowered the security forces to "shoot suspects on sight, arrest suspects without a warrant and withhold information about where detainees are being held or what they are being charged with". The anti-terror legislation came at a time of "great public trepidation in Pakistan". It is to be noted that the Pakistani military is engaged in a large-scale offensive against the Pakistan Taliban and allied jihadist groups in the North Waziristan tribal district and many Pakistanis "fear violent militant reprisals in the country's main cities".
Introducing the Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014, Cabinet Minister Zahid Hamid said: It would "send a message that the Government stands with the military in the operation against terrorists". "The bill offers statutory cover to armed forces which are fighting against the enemies of the country for the revival of peace and stability," he also said. The bill that was adopted on July 2 contains provisions for "judicial oversight and review", and it was supported by the largest opposition party, the Pakistan People’s Party (PP), as well as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Party (MQMP), which dominates in Karachi. This anti-terror and protect Pakistan law doubles the maximum prison sentence for those convicted of terrorism offenses, allows security forces to hold suspects for up to 60 days and empowers senior police and armed forces officials to issue "shoot on sight" orders. Besides, the new law gives the security forces the power to search a building without a warrant, provided they justify their actions to a special judicial magistrate within two days. Besides, it says that the intercepted cell-phone communications will be admissible in court as evidence".
It is disgusting that we have a Chief Minister who, instead of discharging his constitutional duties, has been demanding withdrawal of the AFSPA, which cannot be termed as anti-terror law. It only gives some legal immunity to the armed forces involved in anti-insurgency operations. New Delhi must call his bluff and come out with the required anti-terror law. It is a must for the protection of India.
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