THE KILLINGS SPILL OVER
Governor Satya Pal Malik’s placatory gestures seem to have fallen on deaf ears
On November 1 evening, unidentified gunmen shot dead the BJP’s state secretary in Jammu’s Kishtwar town. Anil Parihar, 53, and his elder brother Ajit were gunned down near their home as they were returning from their family’s stationery shop. These were the first political killings in the Chenab valley since 2011.
The killings in Kishtwar, which had been proclaimed “militancy-free” years ago, indicate that Pakistan-backed militant outfits are once again expanding their footprint beyond the Valley. In fact, signs of a growing militant presence have been evident for some months.
In May this year, police detained Mohammad Abdullah Gujjar, a Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) militant who was trying to recruit local youth to
the outfit. In early July, the police arrested Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militants Rameez Ahmad Wani and Nissar Ahmad Ganie and recovered from them a substantial cache of arms. The two men were recruiting youngsters from a madrassa in Kishtwar town. Their interrogation led to the arrest of Touseef Ahmad Gudna later in September, another OGW (over-ground worker) of the Hizb. And most recently, in October, local police officials were surprised to find gun-toting photographs of Jamal-ud-din, a local youngster from the Keshwan area, on social media. Having signed up with the Lashkare-Taiba, he is now called ‘Abu Bakar’.
Unlike the abysmal showing in the Valley, Kishtwar saw an impressive 72.8 per cent voter turnout in the recent civic polls. The district, where over 69 per cent of the population is Muslim, has traditionally been known for its communal amity, barring the rare Hindu-Muslim clashes sparked by militant strikes (like in 2001, when militants gunned down 17 Hindu nomads).
This time too, the state authorities have had to impose prohibitory orders, including curfew in Kishtwar, Bhaderwah and Doda towns, in the face of spiralling communal tensions following the killing of the Parihar brothers. The army was also called in to stage cautionary flag marches in several parts of Kishtwar district.
Ironically, the assassinations in Kishtwar were carried out the very evening that J&K governor Satya Pal Malik made conciliatory noises indicating some manner of a pullback from the overtly muscular policy adopted in tackling militancy.
Speaking in Jammu on November 1, the governor said, “Terrorism cannot be wiped out by killing militants. More of them will keep trying to join terror groups. They will keep attacking police and security forces which will, in turn, fire bullets, not bouquets. And they (militants) will die in the process.” Malik talked encouragingly about ‘mainstreaming’ the militants. “Our aim is not to hunt them down but to eradicate terrorism. We want the people in the Valley to understand that nothing is to be achieved from terrorism,” he said.
But despite this, on the bloodied ground across the Valley, there appears to be no let-up in Operation All Out, the security force offensive launched in early 2017 in the wake of the unending Burhan Wani protests. Both militant, security force and civilian killings are on the rise.
National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar says the governor is indulging in gimmickry. “The governor,” he says, “is not following a political roadmap. Mere statements will not calm tempers [in the Valley], and the [continuing] military offensive will worsen the situation.” Former People’s Democratic Party minister Naeem Akhtar, however, thought the governor’s words were “laudable.” But he adds that the BJP regimes in Srinagar and Delhi now need to “walk the talk”. Akhtar also emphasised that Delhi and Islamabad must reopen the dialogue, which has been stalled since 2015.
Meanwhile, the protests in Kishtwar have now also extended the uncertainty over the impending panchayat polls beyond the Kashmir Valley. “In the current atmosphere, who can participate in elections?” asks Sagar. Only an earnest pursuit of dialogue, he says, can restore the people’s confidence.
THE KISHTWAR KILLINGS HAVE CAST GRAVE DOUBTS ON THE CONDUCT OF THE IMPENDING PANCHAYAT POLLS