Harsha Kakar
A news report of last week stated that ten families of Kashmiri Pundits from Choudhary Gund in Shopian, who had remained in the region even at the height of terrorism in the 1990’s, migrated to Jammu post the targeted killing of Puran Krishan Bhat, on 15th Oct. Farooq Abdullah stated, ‘This (attacks of minorities) will never stop until justice is served. Earlier they said such killings happened due to Article370, but it’s abrogated now, so why such killings haven’t stopped? Who’s responsible?’
He subsequently added after the migration, ‘If nothing is done immediately in the matter, then in the coming days, Kashmir may become 100% Hindu-less.’ Targeted killings, not only of non-Kashmiri labour and Kashmiri Pundits but also off duty security personnel, mainly J and K police, has spread fear while being exploited by political parties to accuseDelhi of mishandling Kashmir. Kashmiri political parties have done little to build confidence and trust by pushing their cadre to oppose these killing as also advising youth from joining terrorist groups.
Police assessment on these incidents range from desperation of terrorists in failing to attack security forces to new recruits being instructed to commit murders, thereby ensuring they cannot surrender as they are linked to serious crimes. They also attribute it to shortfall of weapons as also emergence of hybrid terrorists, who are individuals committing a murder and returning to their daily life.Hybrid terrorists are rarely on police radar.
It has provided terrorists with much needed global media space and an increase in volunteers. Terrorist groups immediately taking responsibility for the incident substantiates this fact.This change in terrorist strategy was visible, as recoveries in the recent past from hideouts as also eliminated infiltrating terrorists have raked in larger quantities of pistols and grenades, rather than AK 47s.
Increased police patrolling, setting up of bases and better monitoring have reduced these incidents but not stopped them. The police have also arrested a number of known overground workers and sympathizers. However, none of these steps can be an assured solution. After all, the initiative remains with the terrorist as he chooses his target, place and time. Targeted killings are only aimed at non-local residents or police personnel, avoiding tourists and other activities which form the mainstay of the local economy.
This gives the impression that terrorists are intentionally creating panic amongst the local populace thereby enforcing a migration, projecting Kashmir as disputed as also displaying an internal character to terrorism. Efforts of the government to move about 4000 Kashmiri Pundits into the valley under the PM employment scheme is being claimed as a failure as many are demanding to be posted back to Jammu. In addition, terrorists are attempting to send the message that anyone supporting the state is a legitimate target.
However, there are directions to terrorist groups on avoiding any action which could jeopardize the local economy which is largely dependent on tourism and horticulture. This could enhance anger against terrorists or their sympathizers. The record number of tourists who visited a peaceful Kashmir this year without an incident justifies this fact. There is likely to be a larger footfall in the winters. Not a single truck transporting fruits was targeted nor was a local Kashmiri apple orchard owner threatened.
Targeting of the minority community also enhances the divide between communities, which could also lead to a backlash on Kashmiri’s studying outside the state. Fear and uncertainty also reduces the support base for minority community members thus conveying that they are alone. It was lack of local support which resulted in the migration of Kashmiri Pundits from Shopian.
Meanwhile the government claims that numbers of terrorists have dropped. A report last week quoted police authorities announcing that the region has 83 foreign terrorists alongside 54 local.The police states that this is due to ‘strong monitoring and tracking of online activities by the government.’
Exploiting of incidents by political parties to gain brownie points only adds to confidence of disgruntled elements. Not criticizing the incident nor advising locals against falling prey to terrorist groups propaganda while adversely condemning the government and security forces enhances the sectarian divide. By not supporting Kashmiri Pundits, politicians are playing a dangerous card which could damage benefits the region is currently enjoying.
Simultaneously, there is a need to bridge the gap between communities. This should be done through locally elected bodies including the District Development Council (DDC). Safina Baig, a DDC chairperson from the valley, member of the Kashmir valley delegation of DDC representatives to Brussels for a conference on Grass Roots Democracy in Kashmir stated, ‘This new leadership (DDC) represents the aspirations of the common people to build positive peace through stable and meaningful democratic development.’ Mir Junaid, a human rights activist accompanying the delegation added, ‘Our only enemy is terrorism, and the world must not forget that terrorism anywhere is a threat to the whole of humanity and must not be allowed to exist at any cost in any part of the world for peace and harmony to exist.’ Unless the DDC is actively involved, not much can be achieved.
Apprehending or eliminating the terrorist responsible for the killing does bring succour to the family and community but does little to quell rising fear and panic. Measures adopted by the government can reduce incidents but not stop them altogether. Every single incident provides the terrorist with publicity which he could never gain by any other means. The adage that a ‘terrorist has to be lucky just once while security forces have to be lucky always’ holds merit. Unless measures are taken to bring society together, unilateral attempts by security forces will be restricted.
It is time for the DDC’s to work with their communities to bring harmony to Kashmir to enable it to prosper. Security forces have created the environment, they have to take it forward by getting people to understand that terrorism would push them back, rather than take them forward. There has been an improvement in the security environment following immense sacrifices by locals and security forces. This situation cannot be allowed to slide back.
The author is Major General (Retd)
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