In J&K, army should go back to barracks, says Yashwant Sinha
HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha on Monday suggested that the Army should return to the barracks in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving the anti-militancy operations to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state police, which he said would act “like a balm on the psyche” of the people there.
The former external affairs minister also said that Pakistan has become a “necessary third party” in the Jammu and Kashmir issue because of “our own repeated mistakes”.
Delivering a talk on ‘Kashmir-now and way ahead’ at an event here, Sinha pressed for an urgent dialogue with “our own people” of Jammu and Kashmir, saying too much violence has already taken place and too many lives lost, including that of the security forces, and it’s time to put an end to this.
He said that it has now become the primary responsibility of the Army to be in the forefront in the fight against militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
“In villages or towns, when there is militancy situation, it is Indian Army first, followed by the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police,” Sinha said.
The former minister said that he was against the excessive use of armed forces in controlling internal law and order situation, including in Jammu and Kashmir.
“There is a case for the Army going back to the barracks, leaving the operations against militancy to the CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police,” he said.
The CRPF is well equipped and trained to handle militancy as they already tackle left wing extremism problem in the country in collaboration with the local police, he argued.
He also said that Kashmir was a political problem and people want the dialogue process to begin as was “promised” to them.
“The government will now have to decide who the interlocutor will be and then set a timeframe for discussion and try and finish the consultations in this (particular) period,” Sinha advised.
He said that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister, he had decided to have this dialogue and nominated the then deputy Prime Minister and home minister L K Advani.