SIGNS OF A THAW IN J&K
Amid the security crackdown in Kashmir that has already eliminated a hundred armed militants since January, the deep freeze that had marred prospects of dialogue after the July 2016 killing of Burhan Wani is showing early signs of a thaw. The Centre and the separatists appear to be veering towards dialogue in the backdrop of Amit Shah’s first visit to the Valley as home minister, on June 26.
On June 23, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the Hurriyat’s moderate faction, responded enthusiastically to governor S.P. Malik’s assertion that the situation was “much better than when I came here [in August 2018]”. Malik was citing the downturn in militant recruitments, cessation of stone-pelting protests and Hurriyat separatists being open to dialogue. Mirwaiz said meaningful talks would draw a “positive
response” from the separatists. On June 25, however, he told india today in Srinagar that the Narendra Modi government must also “seriously consider Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s often-repeated offer of dialogue on all issues”.
Analysts believe the overture from separatists was prompted by Khan’s apparent eagerness to kick-start the India-Pakistan dialogue process. They point out that Mirwaiz and other Hurriyat leaders have discernibly toned down their rhetoric since PM Modi’s landslide victory in the Lok Sabha election.
Speaking on June 13 at a meeting of the Joint Resistance Leadership, a grouping of Kashmir separatists, Mirwaiz had urged India and Pakistan to use the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet in Bishkek as an “icebreaker”. His Friday address on June 21 avoided politics and was devoted to exhorting the youth to shun narcotics.
But the BJP spelt things out differently. Its J&K in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna said the dialogue was to create an environment of peace and reconciliation, but within the ambit of India’s Constitution. “Develop faith in the constitution and assist in maintaining law and order; then we can talk,” he said.
Things seem to be mimicking how it turned out when the A.B. Vajpayee government initiated talks with the separatists. There has been a disturbing surge in terror strikes using IEDs, starting with the February 14 Pulwama attack. Intelligence sources report ‘close shaves’ in Jammu as well, with IEDs being defused. Police officers say local militants have developed the expertise to build IEDs. Can the proposed dialogue process overcome such attempts to sabotage prospects of peace?