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| Revocation of AFSPA or its dilution would be a major concession to terrorism | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Sept 12: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wants Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to not only withdraw or amend the AFSPA, but also wants him to start negotiations with Kashmiri separatists, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and announce a comprehensive employment package for militants, surrendered or otherwise, as also for the families of those who confronted the security forces and in the process got killed. Reports emanating from New Delhi clearly suggest that the Prime Minister, UPA chairperson and AICC president Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee are prepared to concede the demands being put forth by Omar Abdullah.
This is one side of the story and it is indeed frightening. Frightening in the sense that any concession announced at the behest of the failed Chief Minister would mean a major, major concession to terrorism and politics of blackmail and a deliberate affront to the self-respect of our soldiers who have been fighting magnificently and splendidly in Kashmir and other parts of India where the secessionists, including the Maoists and Pakistani agents, have stepped up their anti-India activities to dismember the country. It is frightening and disturbing all the more because concession to terrorism and politics of blackmail and communalism would surely paralyze our defence machine. How could you think in terms of raising such issues, still more of making amendments in the AFSPA, at a time when the Army is fighting the Indian enemy?
However, the other side of the story is somewhat inspiring. Other reports emanating from New Delhi suggest that Defence Minister AK Antony, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah and Minister of State in the PMO Prithvi Raj Chavan, who is also in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir, and even JKPCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz are opposing the Omar Abdullah's line. It is obvious that they are opposing the Omar Abdullah's line taking into consideration the larger interests and to show the Kashmiri extremists their rightful place. It is their opposition, plus the opposition of the Army Chief and other top military officials that has not allowed the Prime Minister and others to endorse the Omar Abdullah's line that is fraught with dangerous ramifications and converting Kashmir into a zone where the likes of Geelani would reign supreme and free to implement their regressive agenda leading up to the establishment of what Geelani calls "Nizam-e-Mustafa." Had Antony, Azad, Farooq Abdullah, Soz and Chavan and the defence authorities not opposed the Omar Abdullah's line, the Prime Minister and others like him would have surely announced some major concessions on the eve of Eid in their desperate bid to purchase a temporary peace in the disturbed Valley.
Thus, the reports emanating from New Delhi clearly suggest that both the Union Government and the Congress are vertically divided on the issue - one section prepared to accept the Omar Abdullah's highly controversial suggestions and other section opposing it tooth and nail.
What, however, causing grave concern is the insistence of Omar Abdullah on his demands, with the Prime Minister and others like him not telling the J&K Chief Minister on his face that what he has been demanding cannot be conceded and that what he needs to do is to meet the situation in Kashmir squarely and provide an efficient and corruption-free administration to the people. It would not be out of place to mention here that most of the troubles in Kashmir are basically related to governance by the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government. Besides, it must be mentioned that the policy-planners in New Delhi have utterly failed to understand the nature of the movement in Kashmir. The movement in Kashmir has been launched by those whose bottom-line is secession; who are rabidly communal; who are not interested in any packages other than political packages calculated to help them achieve their ultimate goal - secession from India on the basis of religion.
Everything is not lost in Kashmir. The situation can still be retrieved. The unruly elements and separatists and extremists like Geelani and the Mirwaiz can still be tackled and defeated. But this is possible only if the authorities in New Delhi are prepared to discuss the nature and social composition of the ongoing secessionist and violent movement in Kashmir. They should realize that their policy of appeasement and sops have in no way helped New Delhi in Kashmir. Instead, it has only complicated the situation there and emboldened the secessionists and fundamentalists to intensify their anti-India struggle. They have always regarded the packages and sops as signs of New Delhi's weakness.
According to reports, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who wanted to discuss the Kashmir situation/package for Kashmir on the eve of Eid (Friday) but could do so because of the serious differences within the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) as well as sharp divisions with the Congress, has again convened a meeting of the CCS on Monday (September 13) to discuss the situation in Kashmir, consider options like partial withdrawal of the AFSPA and give concrete shape to the so-called package that, according to reports, would "end the three-month-long cycle of violence in the Valley."
There is nothing bad if the Prime Minister discusses threadbare the Kashmir situation in order to understand the nature and implications of the ongoing movement there and evolve a policy that is designed to eliminate terrorists and end the scourge of terrorism and separatism. He must do that. But he should not toy with the idea of giving any concession. For, any move on his part to withdraw or dilute the AFSPA and give any political concession at the behest of the Chief Minister would not only further embolden the Kashmiri separatists to give a more radical orientation to their movement, but it would also provoke explosions in Jammu and Ladakhs well as the refugee camps housing the persecuted community of Kashmiri Hindus. In other words, it would not only lower the morale of the Army and help the separatists' cause, but would create additional problems for New Delhi in the otherwise peaceful Jammu and Ladakh. The need of the time is to defeat separatism, extremism and terrorism in Kashmir and not to provoke the peaceful Jammu and Ladakh regions to create a volatile situation there. It is hoped that the Prime Minister would recognize the signs of the time and act accordingly and firmly. |
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