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| Omar on collision course with army? | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Nov 11: Things have finally come to a showdown between the State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the army over the partial revocation of AFSPA. Omar has firmly said it is the prerogative of the State government whether it wants the AFSPA revoked or not. "The governor will have to act on the advice afforded to him by the govt on this issue," Omar Abdullah told reporters here when he said he would not take 'no' as an option. He said the army would have to come forward with a 'workable and feasible option'. The workable and feasible option according to the Chief Minister would only be a positive response to his proposal for revocation of AFSPA from Srinagar city and Badgam in the Valley and Jammu city and Samba in the Jammu province.
The Chief Minister has also said categorically that he would now speak on the issue to the army only after the two panels, one headed in the Valley by the corps commander of the Chinar corps and the other headed in the Jammu province by the corps commander of Nagrota corps, would submit their report on the AFSPA revocation issue to the Unified headquarters.
The anger of the Chief Minister is understandable given the fact that he has put his credibility at stake after he announced his decision that the act will have to go from the places where the army has not operated for the last many years. But the anger of the Chief Minister must not reach a level where it clashes directly with the security matters those concern not only the State but the entire country. The concerns of the army have to be seriously addressed before any decision on the contentious issue is finally taken. The army has clearly stated that militancy is not a static phenomenon. It is not something that remains restricted to a rural area or an urban area permanently. It is not like an epidemic of smallpox that can be restricted to one area where it initially breaks out by restricting the passage of the people to and from. The army has expressed reasonable apprehensions about those areas becoming safe havens for the militants from where the act is revoked. It is an apprehension that needs logical consideration and not something that can be treated as an ego clash between the Chief Minister and the army. After all, it is the army that has made huge sacrifices for the present peace dividends which have made the talk of AFSPA revocation even possible for the political bosses. Could anyone even imagine of AFSPA revocation a few years back?
Omar Abdullah has said the provision of reimposition of AFSPA would always remain available if the situation again worsens in areas those are taken out of the act. This assertion in itself is a gamble which must be avoided at all costs. We would have to ensure that the situation continues to remain peaceful in areas where it is so today even after the act is revoked there either partially or completely.
The Chief Minister must not behave like someone sitting high on ego and neither should the army. The two will have to move together on the road to ushering in permanent peace in the State. Yet the experience, the understanding of the ground situation and the intelligence gathering of the army that has been dealing with terrorism in the State must not be overlooked at any cost. No politician has the wherewithal to deal with terrorism without the support and the sacrifices of the security forces. Nothing should be done to dampen the spirit of the security forces, be that for the satisfaction of somebody's ego or political credibility. |
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