Beneficiaries of amnesty not part of stonepelters, says Dineshwar

NEW DELHI: Dineshwar Sharma, the Centre’s special representative to Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday defended the decision to withdraw cases dating back to 2008 against stone-pelters , saying those covered by the amnesty were not involved in new incidents of stone throwing. And, according to J&K police, none of them had joined the ranks of militants, he said.

Sharma’s remarks, in an interview with HT, came in the backdrop of an increase in violence and intensity of stone pelting in the Kashmir valley and criticism of the withdrawal of cases.

Sharma said the positive sentiment generated in the Valley after the withdrawal of cases could not be sustained because the situation had deteriorated in the last two months.

Taking responsibility for the amnesty, Sharma said: “There are thousands of students and youth who got involved in stone pelting cases and a majority of them were involved only in one case and many of them date back to 2008, almost 10 years old. Recruitment to militancy is mainly from stone-pelters who are frustrated and angry, having lost hope of any positive direction in their career and life.”

He added: “Our criminal justice infrastructure in J&K is incapable of handling so many cases. The result has been continuous accumulation of cases without any final outcome.”

“My recommendation for withdrawal of cases against firsttime stone pelters was an attempt to wean away the youth from the path of violence as we cannot leave thousands of youth vulnerable to exploitation by separatists and militants,” Sharma said

Refusing to comment on recent demands for a unilateral ceasefire with terror groups in the valley and along the border with Pakistan during the holy month of Ramzan, Sharma said the young in Kashmir were caught in a vicious cycle and being exploited by vested interests.

“We have to take them out (of the vicious cycle) and guide them. Without this, we cannot restore peace in Kashmir,” said Sharma.