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Kashmir : India cool to Musharraf’s talk of “joint management”

	June 26, 2006

India has made it clear that while it is prepared

to set up cross-Line of Control joint mechanisms

on issues such as health, water management,

environment protection and tourism, it would reject

out of hand any proposal implying ‘joint sovereignty’

over Jammu and Kashmir to be shared between

India and Pakistan. Ministry of External Affairs

sources in New Delhi were reacting to Pakistan

President General Pervez Musharraf’s latest proposal

for ‘joint management’ in Kashmir with

demilitarisation and self-governance going side by

side. They said that the Pakistan President’s proposal

lacks credibility as Islamabad has done very little in

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas

under its control to lend political and diplomatic

support to the ‘resolution framework’ for which it is

seeking India’s agreement.

Speaking in a CNBC television programme last

week, Musharraf said : “I have proposed

demilitarisation as (the) ... final resolution.

Demilitarise Kashmir, give self-governance to (the)

people of Kashmir with a joint management

arrangement on top. This is an idea I am proposing.

We could debate and modify the idea but we have

to come up with an idea (for) a final settlement of

the dispute to the acceptance of India, Pakistan and

(the) people of Kashmir. It is for (the) people of

Kashmir now to generate ideas and to put pressure

on the Indian government for a resolution.”

He lauded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s

recent interactions with Kashmiri groups. “I am very

glad to say that (he) has been interacting with all

groups of Kashmiris. Obviously, he (has been) talking

of a resolution,” he said, adding that he would

discuss Kashmir and other issues with Dr Singh

during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Pakistan.

Gen Musharraf emphasised a bilateral track to

solve the Kashmir problem. “We are going on a

bilateral track and Pakistan is going along with India.

We do realise that we have to resolve this dispute

bilaterally. I am not at all multilateralising it.”

Observers point out that in bilateral

engagement and in behind-the-scene-talks, Pakistani

interlocutors have been referring to the concept of

‘joint sovereignty’. This is the first time that General

Musharraf has publicly mooted ‘joint management’.





From the Indian standpoint, the proposal is

way removed from Manmohan Singh’s perception

of a step by step approach, including establishment

of cooperative, consultative mechanism” between the

two sides of Kashmir to “solve problems of social

and economic development of the region.” In fact,

Singh’s underlying message for Musharraf in his

March 24 speech in Amritsar was against pushing

for joint control or management. His call essentially

was for developing mechanisms in consultation with

people on either side, to improve their lives.

“If the Pakistan President is seeking joint

sovereignty, it is out of the question,” said a top

MEA official. Short of that, New Delhi is willing to

set up cross-LoC joint mechanisms on issues such as

health, water management, environment protection

and tourism - within the framework of Indo-Pak

Joint Commission

In a way, the official pointed out, Musharraf

has again has sought to shift the focus to the Indian

side of the LoC, disregarding the ground situation

on the Pakistani side of the state. His renewed pitch

for self-governance comes at a time when individuals

and political parties are being eliminated from the

political process in PoK for refusing to endorse the

State’s ‘accession’ to Pakistan. Is this self-governance

?, the official asked.



India has an open mind : Sonia

The start of another bus service between the

two parts of Jammu and Kashmir was marked by a

call by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to the

separatists to take part in the round-table discussions

initiated by the Manmohan Singh Government.

Inaugurating the Poonch-Rawalkot bus service on

June 20, Sonia Gandhi said the Centre is committed

to solve the Kashmir issue with an open mind.

Without naming the Hurriyat Conference which

did not take part in the two round table conferences

held so far, Sonia Gandhi said those people should

understand that peace was imperative for the

prosperity and development of the state that has

seen bloodshed for the last 16 years. “No path

towards peace will emerge without a dialogue. We

want that peace and development are restored in

the state,” she said.

Sonia Gandhi described the introduction of the

bus service as yet another step towards pulling down

the walls of hatred and animosity. Such confidence

building measures were a bridge towards friendship

between the two countries. The UPA chairperson

said, India was taking more CBMs to ease tension

with Pakistan.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee speaking

on the occasion said Pakistan President Pervez

Musharraf had given the assurance that they would

check cross border terrorism. Mukherjee hoped that

the General would stick to his word.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the

opening of the Poonch-Rawalkot road would go a

long way in creating an atmosphere of peace.

The man-made boundary between India and

Pakistan lost its importance momentarily on

Thursday, June 22, as the famous Chambilyal mela

symbolising the common cultural heritage of the

two countries was celebrated with equal vigour and

enthusiasm on both sides of the border.

Thousands gathered on each side to participate

in the mela celebrated for the 317th time in history.

The rush at the fair, which is an annual affair,

reflected the popular urge for peace on both sides.

Kashmir Valley to have its first

train next year

The first train in the Kashmir Valley is all set to

run next year. Trains on the Kakapora-Rajwiansher

segment of the 119 km. long Qazigund-Baramulla

section are expected to start running by March 2007.

On the whole section, the trains will start running by

the yearend. Special road trailers will transport the

coaches for the trains.

The Katra-Qazigund section is the most

challenging part of the project as it pierces through the

Pir Panjal mountain range. It will require the

construction of an 11.42 km. long tunnel, the longest

railway tunnel on the Indian Railways network. Work

on the tunnel is in progress. This section will also

include 16 km. of bridge length that will include major

bridges across the Chenab. It will have the highest

and the longest railway arch bridge to be built in the

world. The 1.315 km long bridge will be built at a

height of 386 mtrs., higher than the Empire State

Building and the Eiffel Tower. It will cost about Rs. 523

crore.

To protect the railway line, the Railways have

started the process of raising two battalions of the

Railway Protection Force to be deployed in Jammu

and Kashmir. Speaking at an Editors’ Conference on

Social Sector Infrastructure issues in Srinagar, Railway

Board Chairman, J.B. Batra said, “We have made

recruitments for raising two battalions of the RPF.

Training of recruits of one battalion has already begun.”

Batra said efforts have been made to include

local youth in the new battalions as a special

dispensation. Six hundred applications of eligible people

whose land has been acquired for the project, are

pending with the state government for verification.



As is the tradition, the Pakistan Rangers led by

Commandant Najib reached the Indian territory with

a few civilians to collect shakar (soil). It is known to

have medicinal value and it is believed that the soil

is holy and can cure skin diseases.

The scheduled half an hour ceremony went on

for an hour. It was Punjabi diplomacy all the way as

commanders of the Border Security Force and the

Pakistan Rangers struck an immediate rapport.

Instead of Urdu or Hindustani, Punjabi was the

lingua franca of the two commanders as they

exchanged greetings. Soil and water handed over by

BSF men to Pakistan Rangers of the Chenab regiment

was distributed to people on the other side.

Upsurge in violence

The latest proposals from Pakistan President

have come at a time when the Kashmir valley is

witnessing an upsurge of terrorist violence,

sponsored by Pakistan-based organisations. On

Saturday, June 24 itself, there were three terrorist

attacks in the valley. In one incident, militants lobbed

a grenade at a CRPF picket near Budshah Chowk in

the heart of Srinagar, killing one person and injuring

ten others. The target of the terrorists appeared to

be the Dashnami Akhara nearby, associated with

the Amarnath pilgrimage.

In an incident in Pahalgam, terrorists attacked

a CRPF convoy resulting in the security forces

opening fire in which a 17 year old student and his

mother were killed. Angry villagers later attacked a

police station and six villagers were injured in police

firing to control the mob.

In Pulwama, an Army captain and two militants

including a socalled district commander of the

Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujaheedin, were killed in

an encounter.

Observers note that there have been several

terrorist attacks over the past month by Pakistanbased

organisations like the Hizbul Mujaheedin and

Lashkar-e-Taiba, which indicates that Pakistan has

given up the pretence of sticking to its promise not

to allow its territory to be used by terrorist

organisations. The worst incidents were the ramming

of a BSF bus by a car bomb a day before the Prime

Minister’s visit to Srinagar and the shooting dead of

nine labourers by militants. The involvement of

Pakistan-based elements in the terror attacks is borne

by the fact that tourists are being targeted for the

first time in many years. The Kashmiri people have

been appealing to the militant organisations not to

attack tourists as they are the major source of income

of large sections of people living in the Kashmir

valley. That the terrorists have not responded to

their appeals, indicates that they are being used by

their Pakistani handlers for ulterior purposes.

Significantly, Union Home Secretary V.K.

Duggal said in Srinagar on Friday, June 23, that

there was little evidence to show that the terrorist

infrastructure on the other side of the Line of Control

was being dismantled or terrorists export was being

stopped. Speaking on “Initiatives for Peace and

Development” in Jammu and Kashmir at a

conference on Social Sector Infrastructure Issues,

Duggal said India Pakistan relations will not improve

at the desired pace unless Pakistan took steps not to

allow the terrorists to use its territory.

Earlier last week, National Security Advisory

M.K. Narayanan visited Srinagar on Wednesday,

June 21, along with the Army Chief Gen. J.J. Singh

and Director Intelligence Bureau E.S.L. Narisimham

to review the security situation in the state.

Narayanan was apprised about the situation along

the Line of Control and infiltration which had

increased in the last two months. He was informed

that scores of lives had been lost since the May 21

attack on a Congress rally in Srinagar in which the

target was Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Hizb power struggle linked with upsurge in

violence

There are reports that the recent wave of

violence may be linked to a power struggle within

the Hizbul Mujahideen over the sharing of extortion

money. On Tuesday, June 20, the police eliminated

Farooq Ahmad Bhat, Hizb commander for Anantnag

district. Documents recovered from the terrorist show

that 280 residents of Anantnag and Kulgam, his

area of operation, were making graded payments of

Rs. 11,000 or Rs. 4,800 at regular intervals to the

Hizb. Dozens of others made one-time payments of

several hundred thousand rupees.

Between December 12, 2005 and May 17, 2006,

Bhat, his diaries record, raised an estimated Rs.

5,95,000, no small amount given that the Hizb’s active

cadre strength in Kulgam and Anantnag is put at

under 50 men. In addition, a staggering Rs. 38,61,550

was distributed to the families of 290 slain Hizb

terrorists. Part of it may have come from across the

line of control.

Investigators believe that the June 11 massacre

of nine migrant labourers from Nepal may have

been linked to the Hizb’s highly-organised extortion

operations. The massacre is thought to have been

executed to force local contractors to make direct

payments to a local terrorist rather than to his district

and sub-division-level superiors.

Extortion targeting contractors in south Kashmir

dates back to 1999, when the Lashkar-e-Taiba

executed 12 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh

and Uttar Pradesh at Sandu, a few minutes drive

from the site of the recent massacre. Again, in August

2000, the Lashkar killed nine workers from Bilaspur

at Yumo, while another 19 were massacred in

Qazigund.

Local contractors, dependent on migrant labour

for execution of the government-funded

infrastructure development projects under way in

south Kashmir, turned to the Hizb for help. Hizb

commanders, who operate in close coordination with

the Lashkar, agreed to use their influence to end the

massacres - in return for regular payments.

Infrastructure development in southern

Kashmir gathered momentum after work began on

the New Delhi-Baramulla rail line three years ago.

So too, did the Hizb earnings pick up. Junior

commanders now sought a direct share of the

earnings from extortion, their ambitions fuelled by

the fact that several of their superiors’ relatives had

won large contracts themselves.

Terror attack on religious congregation

In the meantime, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative,

Qayoom Nassar, has been identified as the person

who bombed a religious congregation in northern

Kashmir on Thursday, June 22.

Several witnesses to the attack on the prominent

Sufi mystic Ahad Sa’ab Sopore recognised Nassar.

A resident of the Batpora area, Nassar joined the

Lashkar five years ago, when he was just 16. He is

believed to have been responsible for the string of

recent attacks against both civilians and security

force personnel in Sopore.

Islamists in the area have long opposed the

influence of Ahad Sa’ab Sopore, a one-time

policeman who left his job and became a mystic

after undergoing what he describes as a spiritual

experience three decades ago. As early as 1991, the

Hizbul Mujahideen carried out a near-successful

assassination attempt on the mystic. However, he

escaped unhurt.

At the core of the conflict are ideological

disputes between folk religion and Islamist groups.

Terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir have long

targeted Sufi shrines, which they assert are

antithetical to Islam. Lashkar cadres are thought to

be responsible for a May 2005 arson that led to the

destruction of the 14th century shrine of saint

Zainuddin Wali at Ashmuqam in south Kashmir.

Earlier Ashmuqam was subjected to several grenade

attacks, leading to disruption of festive days there

for several years.

LeT commander surrenders

For the first time in the history of militancy in

Jammu and Kashmir, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)

commander surrendered on June 17 to security forces

in the border town of Rajouri.

Mushtaq alias Abu Saif was LeT’s “launching

commander” based in Pakistan-administered

Kashmir and used to launch terrorist groups into

Jammu and Kashmir from across the border.

“He is the first Pakistani to surrender to

security forces,” Farooq Khan, Rajouri’s senior

superintendent of police, said.

According to him, Saif had crossed the border

about a week ago but he was disillusioned with the

ways of terrorism.

After handing over his weapons to Deputy

Inspector General M.A. Anjum, Saif told reporters

that he had realised that militancy only caused

destruction. In his mid-30s, Saif had become a

“launching commander” in June 2000.

The police described his surrender as a big

blow to the militancy in the area.

Meanwhile, the Army has uncovered two huge

arms caches in Jammu and Kashmir following its

redoubled efforts to “unearth the wherewithal of

terrorists”. The caches were unearthed June 20 from

Khanabal in the Machal sector and Naugam in the

Kupwara sector of the Kashmir Valley, a Defence

Ministry statement said.

This is the second major success by the Army

in two weeks. On June 5, troops successfully

prevented an infiltration bid in the Machal sector

and recovered a large arms cache, including 14 AK-

47 rifles, in the Gurez area the same day.

“Deeply concerned by the increased grenade

and explosive attacks in the Valley in the recent

past, the Army intensified its combing operations to

unearth the wherewithal of terrorists,” the statement

pointed out.

“The recovery of large quantities of grenades,

explosives and Improvised Explosive Devices is

significant considering the recent terrorist attacks on

tourists in Srinagar and pilgrims visiting the

Amarnath shrine,” the statement said.

“The intensified military operations in the

Valley are bound to have a telling effect on the

terrorist designs to cause mayhem and spread terror

amongst the local population and the tourists to the

region,” it added.

Sex scandal case : CBI files chargesheets

against nine

The Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, has

filed charge against nine people in the Kashmir sex

scandal case. The chargesheet was filed in the court

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, against the

accused including BSF DIG S.A. Padhi.

The charge-sheet contained other names

including former state additional advocate general

Anil Sethi, DSP Mohammad Ashraf Mir and Sabeena,

the alleged kingpin of the racket, Shabir Langoo,

Shabir Kala, Mehrajuddin Malik and Masood

Ahmed. All the nine accused are likely to be charged

with rape under Section 376 of the Indian Penal

Code for sexually abusing a minor. Other charges

against them include procuring of girls for

prostitution, intimidation of witnesses and wrongful

confinement. The accused, if convicted on the charge

of rape, face a punishment of seven years to life

imprisonment.

Anil Sethi was remanded to judicial custody

till July 7. Sethi, who is the son of former Supreme

Court judge R.P. Sethi, had surrendered before a

court in Jammu on June 21. Two former ministers

Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Raman Mattoo were also

arrested by the CBI.