HOPE KASHMIR CEASEFIRE DOES NOT BACKFIRE?

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HOPE KASHMIR CEASEFIRE DOES NOT BACKFIRE?

Ceasefire may sound good politically, but all political decisions do not necessarily lead to the desired results. Ceasefire is acceptable as long as both the warring parties agree to it. Holding a ceasefire unilaterally against the mercenaries is akin to waving a white flag. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government’s decision to announce ceasefire in Kashmir during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is a well-intentioned move, taken primarily to please its partner People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir with whom it shares power. One hopes the country does not have to pay a heavy price for this unilateral decision which has already been met with disdain by militant groups active in Kashmir.

Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba took no time in rejecting the ceasefire calling it a drama. And a day after maintaining a studied silence, the Kashmir-based separatist leaders – Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik too denounced the ceasefire. It is ample clear that militants and separatists don’t understand the language of peace and have little regard for the safety and well-being of the common people who are also falling prey in the process, and want Kashmir to be on the boil just only to please their masters sitting across the border. The separatist leaders are the biggest disruptive forces who have time and again shown their true colour by obstructing the peace process.

Now the big question is whether the armed forces were taken on board when the decision was taken? They are the people who have been staking their lives, making countless sacrifices since the militancy erupted in Kashmir in the late eighties. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 6,387 Indian soldiers have laid down their lives (till May 13, 2018) since 1988 when militancy raised its ugly head in Kashmir. During the same period, 14,828 innocent civilians had to lose their lives. In the last 30 years, Indian soldiers neutralised 23,423 militants. These figures speak for the valour of the security personnel who did not flinch in shedding their blood to bring normalcy to the troubled state. At a time, when the armed forces had been on the hot pursuit against the militants, mostly infiltrated into Kashmir from Pakistan, comes this shocker in the form of ceasefire.

Already 30 Indian soldiers have been martyred in Kashmir this year since January as against 72 militants. The figures show the militants have become more lethal, better armed and well-trained to cause maximum casualties. Any amount of leniency towards militants is bound to demoralise the forces which are up against all odds. Not only do they have to bear the brunt of the locals who offer themselves as shields to help escape militants, but often pelt security forces with stones to prevent them from launching any offensive against the militants. Can one understand the pain and agony of these security personnel who face humiliation at the hands of civilians on whose protection they are endangering their lives?

Did the government take into account the fears of security forces that the militants may recoup during the one-month period which may only allow them to re-energise? The militants have been on the back foot right now and lowering the guard against them seems to be a suicidal idea. Of late, several high profile militants have been accounted for, leading to vaccum in the leadership of several militant groups. Therefore, dropping the gun at a time when the security forces were having upper hand is beyond reason. The need of the hour was to maintain the hot trail against the militants whose morale is low.

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The government’s peace overtures have often been junked by the jihadi elements in the past. The fact was certainly lost on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti when she made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a leaf out of the book of the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when his government announced ceasefire in December 2000. Her memory seems to be short as within one month of the ceasefire, a group of Lashkar-e-Toiba militants made an abortive bid to storm the Srinagar airport. In the gun battle that ensued, 11 people, including six militants, three paramilitary soldiers and two civilians, were killed. Is there any guarantee that such an incident will not be repeated, that too when LeT has already denounced the ceasefire.

Even one presumes that the local militants may adhere to ceasefire, there is every reason to believe that Pakistan-based militants will not? One such group has already made its intention clear. Summers are the perfect months when militants make infiltrations into Kashmir from the Pakistani side. Already there have been 48 infiltration bids from across the border till April this year, of which 24 attempts have been successful. Pakistan just can’t resist the temptation to push in as many militants taking advantage of the weather. Moreover, it will do all it can to force Indian security personnel to retaliate so as to put them into poor light. As long as Pakistan does not become party to the ceasefire and follows it in letter and spirit, these one-sided ceasefire offers will hold no water.

The fight against militancy can’t be successful with such knee-jerk reactions when the adversary uses it as a proxy war against you. In order to win the war against terrorism, one will have to keep in mind that militancy cannot be contained; it has to be stamped out completely. We have a perfect example in Punjab. Smarting under humiliating defeats, Pakistan first took advantage of the simmering situation in Punjab and played host to several Khalistani militants. Not only did it shelter them at its backyard, Pakistan financed and trained them militarily as well. It took a heavy-handed approach of the then governments which helped in wiping out militancy from the state.

Why can’t the same approach be applied to Kashmir? When its purpose was defeated in Punjab, Pakistan turned to Kashmir. Needless to say, there is an undeclared war in Kashmir. Thousands of people have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three decades in the name of the so-called freedom movement. The government of India just can’t and should not afford to be lenient to the mercenaries who are out to disturb the social fabric of the country. We just can’t let down our security forces.