Oppn targets govt as truce ends
SRINAGAR: The Opposition on Sunday termed as policy failure the government’s move to resume security operations in Kashmir after a month’s break, saying the Centre had on plan in place to resolve the insurgency.
The state’s ruling BJP-PDP combine blamed unending violence for the Centre’s decision to restart operations in the Valley, saying the militants had failed to reciprocate the peace overture.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah termed the decision as a failure of everyone who wanted peace. “The ceasefire or NICO was the Centre’s initiative & yet these people are celebrating its failure as if it had been announced by our enemies. Its failure is the failure of everyone who wanted to give peace a chance,’’ Abdullah tweeted.
The National Conference leader’s tweet came soon after Union home minister Rajnath Singh announced withdrawal of Non Initiation of Counter-insurgency (Nico), directing security forces to take “all necessary action” to prevent militants from launching attacks. The Centre had on May 16 unilaterally called a truce during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan. 41 people were killed, a record 20 grenade attacks launched and 50 militant strikes were reported in the Valley during the ‘truce month’, a big surge in violence.
The Centre would be responsible for civilians deaths following the resumption of military operations, Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Ghulam Ahmad Mir said.
“The government of India has no road map or concrete policy about Kashmir. It is not even clear whether the Centre had taken its coalition partner PDP on board over withdrawal of the ceasefire,” Mir said.
Kashmir was a sensitive issue and needed a consensus from all parties, he said and added that the Centre took the decision without doing any groundwork and the move didn’t find any takers.
“The Centre also appointed an interlocutor, instead of politics or resolution of important issues, the interlocutor talks about potable water and transformers,” the Congress leader said.
In New Delhi, his party colleague Pawan Khera said Kashmir was the Narendra Modi government’s biggest “failures” and asked the Centre to make public the security measures taken for the Amarnath Yatra that begins June 28.