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| Omar's dream project scuttled by Army Chief | | |
Chief Minister,Omar Abdullah has a reason to feel sad and dismayed.He has a reason to feel crestfallen because his hopes on securing either dilution or withdrawal of the AFSA have been smashed by none other than the Army Chief,Gen.Bikram Singh.The Army Chief,in his latest statement,has opposed any dilution or withdrawal of the AFSPA which in force in Jammu and Kashmir during the last 23 years.Omar Abdullah had hopes of wooing voters in the Kashmir valley during the ensuing Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections on the basis of his possible success on securing repeal of the draconian law.In fact it has not been the pet idea of only Omar Abdullah the AFSPA has given sleepless nights to the main oppolsition PDP leadership and the separatists who believe that had there been no AFSPA the Army would have not been allowed to commit excesses or indulge in human rights violations.At one stage Omar Abdullah used to blame the former Army Chief,Gen.V.K.Singh for having sabotaged the central Government’s move to carry out partial withdrawal of the AFSPA.Now even his successor Gen.Bikram Singh has followed the line adopted by his predecessor.
Army Chief General Bikram Singh has warned against revoking or diluting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir and said he was positive that recent talks with Pakistan and China would ensure peace along the border.He is of the opinion that there are inputs of a possible terrorist spillover into the Valley after the US drawdown in Afghanistan which calls for a fresh look at developments in Afghanistan in 2014 before New Delhi can look at perhaps tampering with or diluting the Disturbed Areas Act It would be prudent to wait and watch for a while before taking a call on AFSPA, he has said.
On recent talks between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India andPakistan, the Army Chief said the meeting was very positive. The Indian side has taken up with Pakistan all issues pertaining to the peace and tranquility on the LOC.The talks are a step in right direction and will help in maintaining the ceasefire agreement. Peace is conducive for development and helps in addressing aspirations of people along the LoC.But despite this development there is no cogent reason for lifting AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir in the context of reports indicating thrust on infiltration of militants from across the border
The Army Chief is in favour of upgrading the entire security grid within Jammu and Kashmir and on the LOC and the IB and retention of the AFSPA is part of the programme of strengthening the over all security bandobast in the state.Since Gen. Singh has categorically opposed any at at tamp[erring with the AFSPA it indicates that the Act may not be either diluted or withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir anytime before the advent of electioneering period for the Lok Sabha and later for the Assembly poll.Another input from Government agencies is that the issue of diluting or witrhdrawal of AFSPA may be delayed and the new Government that assumes office in the centre after the LOk Sabha election may get a chance to take a final decision on the demand for repeal of AFSPA and that decision would depend on the security scenario that existed in the state during and after the poll period.This way Omar Abdullah has been prevented from using an effective weapon for giving a fillip to his party’s election campaign.Since the Lok Sabha elections are to be held in April-May the Congress led UPA Government may not venture to oppose Army Chief’s stand on AFSPA.In case the UPA Government opposed Gen.Bikram Singh’s stand it may send a wrong impression among the rank and file of the Army.And Omar had hoped to ensure a voter swing in favour of the National Conference had he been able to achieve his three year long desire of seeing AFSPA repealed in Jammu and Kashmir.Hence Omar Abdullah has to look for some other juicy idea or slogan which can help him in fighting the antiincumbency factor during the ensuing Lok Sabha and the Assembly election.(
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