Policy shift in anti-terrorism operations to establish peace in Kashmir

By Arun Joshi There is a grand policy shift in  Kashmir where the gears have been shifted from seeking peace through appeasement to eradicate the troublemakers and their sources to set up permanent peace without any interruption of occasional concessions or talks with separatists and their supports. This has become a force multiplier for the police and other wings of the security forces who were earlier caught in between their counter=terrorism operations and the pressure from the political bosses mounted directly and indirectly by offering concessions to the anti-national elements. This policy shift has helped change the scenario in Kashmir, more than that it has send a strong message to patron of terrorism and terrorists within the Valley and across the border. Pakistan has been the main source of terrorism in Kashmir and its stooges were working as its proxy to disturb peace. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stern message that zero-tolerance would be shown toward terrorism has started paying dividends in Kashmir, which had been the hotbed of armed militancy and high-profile terror attacks including Pulwama terror assault of February 14, 2019, and targeting of the security forces and civilians at several places across the Valley. Modi’s firm approach has been translated into the policy by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Lieutenant Governor  Manoj Sinha, who since his assuming office  in August last year, has been battling many challenges that he had inherited, gave  meaning to the words of the Prime  Minister that “  anti-national activities will not be tolerated and those indulging in such activities would be severely punished..” The times for appeasement of inimical elements to buy peace are over, now is the time to establish peace  with firm actions.” Such a decisive shift in the policy has given great moral booster to the security forces who are now carrying out their anti-terrorism operations without any political and administrative shackles. Since, with the takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban, the threats have increased as this has given a psychological and ideological boost to the anti-national elements, and at the same time, they are working overtime in organizing a whispering campaign. {"align":"center","id":137670,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} But, the fact on the ground is that the definition of peace in Kashmir is changing. It is no longer hostage to the whims and fancies of the trouble makers who were appeased to keep a lid on the trouble.   The latest mantra is that no business with anti-nationals and their patrons, instead it would be to target them to finish in the valley that hitherto was a witness to the turmoil for the past over three decades. in which killings, kidnappings, hit and run cases, selective killings and forcing the migration of the minorities drew their own narrative of peace having a price. At the moment Kashmir is largely silent, there are few encounters here and there, and some selective killings of the policemen and civilians, but that doesn’t mean that the peace has returned to the Valley in its complete form. Though no a particular calendar can be listed for peace, the fact, however, is that Kashmir looks back to the pre-1989 days as the peaceful era. In the middle of 1989, the militancy had erupted and it caught imagination of the majority community of Kashmir when gun-wielding terrorists kidnapped then Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s youngest daughter Rubiya Sayeed and released her only after the government set free five militants of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in December 1989. .Thereafter the sounds and slogans of “ we want freedom” reverberated all streets in Kashmir. That was the beginning of the end of peace and onset of militancy in Kashmir in all its fury. An ominous trend started with the kidnappings and release of militants. It happened at all levels including the people connected at the highest level in the country, the government had become dependent upon the professional negotiators from civil society and in most of the cases agreed to the demands of militants. At times, these abductions ended with the death of the hostages. That was one aspect which kept going because of the overall atmosphere of violence around where guns and bombs boomed and human life became the cheapest thing in Kashmir. The governments of the day, whether run by the Centre through Governors during central rule or by the elected political leaders. All the governments, either through their own helplessness or compulsions, made efforts to buy peace. The militants were released or their presence was ignored and the security forces were told to keep off certain areas. The militancy flourished. And, accordingly, there was a decline in the writ of the government. Another way of buying peace was to reach out to the separatist leaders and their conglomerate to keep them in good humour so that they could stay away from the provocative action. They were paid huge sums of money, too, yet the peace , as such, never found its return in the Valley. It was always an ad hoc arrangement. It would be a mistake to say that the peace has returned permanently to Kashmir. It has not. The threats and instigations from across the border are continuing.  But one thing is clear that all the means of buying peace have been discontinued. That’s a big policy shift and it has many dividends in its store. About the Author: Arun Joshi is a senior journalist based in J&K. He has worked with Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express, and The Tribune. He has authored “ Eyewitness Kashmir: Teetering on Nuclear War” and three other books. DISCLAIMER This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write up have nothing to do with it.