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| HM: Change of mind or short of shooters | | Salahuddin's no violence declaration may be a compulsion | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Feb 10
The Jammu and Kashmir Police today claimed to have eliminated Financial Chief of Hizbul Mujahideen. This is yet another major victory for the Police which in past few days have gunned down two top commanders of the Hizbul Majahideen besides around seven other cadres of the same outfit.
The Police and other security forces are quite jubilant over the success achieved by them one after the other in past few days. The combing operations are to the extent that Kashmir Inspector General of Police, SM Sahai says, "many areas, particularly in South Kashmir, have been completely cleared of militants".
This is a positive sign but there are also broad strategic connotations attached to it. All these developments giving edge to the Police and other security forces have taken place amidst the statement of Hizbul Mujahideen chief and United Jehad Council Supreme Commander Syed Salahuddin who said that gun will not be used to scare people away from the political participation.
Salahuddin's statement is a surprise jerk as in past 18 years militants have always resorted to violence to thwart public participation in elections. A section of opinion says that the militant leadership is paving way for dialogue. However, another section is of the opinion that the Police and the security forces have been giving the militants hot chase and the outfits like Hizbul Mujahideen have drastically fallen short of strength in Jammu and Kashmir.
Hizb may be paving way for the peace process and looking for the opportunities to take part in the political process in the state. Senior police and army personnel dismiss the statement as a strategic move, the outcome of the damage the outfit has suffered over the past couple of years. "The Hizbul Mujahideen is in a weakened position today and the statement is purely political in nature, made from compulsion and nothing else," says SM Sahai, IGP Kashmir.
Political analysts, however, read a different layer of meaning into the HM's softened position, seeing in it a tacit move to emerge as a political group. "The HM declaration is more a calculated decision on the part of the outfit to initiate a political fight. It is a step to re-strategise the HM. A similar kind of change has been witnessed in the Hurriyat as well. With the political turmoil in Pakistan showing no signs of abating, both the separatist and the militant leaderships have been left to their own devices", says a veteran political analyst.
Though the Police and security forces are tight lipped over the present strength of militant cadres, but sources pointed out that Hizb is running short of shooters. In 2007, it is reported to have lost 34 senior commanders and over 300 cadre in encounters with the police and army; on December 23, 12 HM militants surrendered before Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. |
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