Neha
JAMMU, Jan 28: National Minorities Commission Chairman and former IAS officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre and first Chief Inform-ation Commissi-oner of the country Wajahat Habibullah yesterday again opened his mouth and said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives legal immunity to the armed forces involved in the anti-insurgency operations and defence of the country, is "against democracy and constitution". "The AFSPA is against democracy and Constitution" and "its loopholes should be remo-ved after discussions with the Army if the law cannot be withdrawn from troubled areas…Such a law should not exist in any democratic setup," he was quoted as saying. He did not think it proper to comment on the circumstances under which Jammu & Kashmir was brought under the ambit of the AFSPA. The Supreme Court of India justified this legislation years ago when its bitter critics wanted this Act to be declared illegal and invalid. The AFSPA was passed by the Parliament in 1958. It was first introduced in the restive North East and later in Jammu & Kashmir in 1990, when the secessionist and communal violence engulfed various parts of the state.
Habibullah, who has been advocating the division of Jammu & Kashmir into five zones on purely communal lines and has invariably supported the divisive demands as raised from time to time by Kashmiri extremists and "mainstream" leaders and who also enjoys the confidence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gandhi family for reasons best known to them, has in the past umpteen times attacked the Indian political system as well as the institution of army and made suggestions which, if accepted and implemented, would undo all the has been done by the nation in Kashmir during the past 65 years or so.
Only very recently, Habibullah had attacked former Army Chief General V K Singh, known for his integrity, honesty, commitment and dedication, and charged him with not taking action against his soldiers who had committed rape in Kashmir and went scot-free. "In his (Gen Singh's) case, I am sorry to say so, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Army. There are, at least in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, massive allegations of rape against Army. Were they ever enquired into? Was an effort made to bring justice? Here was a case of rape (in Delhi on December 16). Regrettable, yes. But if he (Gen Singh) wants to join in condemnation of the government against that, has he taken into account various ramifications of that," he had told PTI in an interview. The only crime of General Singh was that he, along with Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev participated in a protest against the gang-rape of a young girl in a moving bus in Delhi.
The man called Wajahat Habiullah is one person in the Istablishment who has been airing controversial, nay pro-separatist, views since more than two decades now. The worst part of the whole situation has been that the authorities in the Government of India, instead of reining and punishing him for his undesirable acts committed while holding high offices, have only rewarded him again and again. Habibullah is also one person who has been consistent in his approach towards Jammu & Kashmir. While he has attacked the system innumerable times, he has never ever uttered a word against those in Kashmir who have been blooding and convulsing the state's socio-political scene, particularly since 1987, when the NC, in collaboration with the Congress, allegedly rigged the assembly elections wholesale to recapture power. He has never uttered a word against those who communalised the Kashmir situation and created an environment that compelled the miniscule minority of Kashmiri Hindus, besides many Sikhs quit the Valley to become refugees in their own country. He has always been insensitive towards the sufferings of the persecuted minority communities in Jammu & Kashmir. On the contrary, he has never missed any opportunity to express solidarity with the undesirables in Kashmir.
The fact of the matter is that he has consistently tried to defend the ongoing secessionist movement in Kashmir and attacked the institution of Indian State. It is regrettable that he is still there in the establishment holding a constitutional position. Had anyone in the Pakistani establishment aired even once views like Habibullah, he would have been removed from his in no time and punished under the charge of sedition. But India is a great country where anybody can say anything and go scot-free. That's the reason the concerned citizens, including strategic affairs experts and those well-versed in foreign policy matters, have started describing India as a "soft state".
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