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Kashmir : Mufti gets busy keeping promises

	November 11, 2002

The new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, has started implementing the promises made during the poll campaign. Among the first steps he has taken is to start releasing militants from jail. Though it may not entirely find favour with the security forces, the Mufti is going ahead with measures to restore public confidence in the State Government.

One of the major promises made by the People’s Democratic Party was to make power available to the State. The Chief Minister has asked the Power Department to drastically reduce loadshedding. Till he assumed the reins of the Government, Kashmir had a daily curtailment of 15 hours in its electricity schedule. Load-shedding during peak hours was unavoidable, as almost all the daily chores of the locals like cooking, lighting and heating are done on electricity. The improvement in power supply was made possible by drawing additional power from the Northern Grid and by running gas turbines during peak hours in morning and evening.

The Government will take bigger risks by fulfiling its promises of withdrawing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and relocating the Special Operations Group (SOG) which earned notoriety for allegedly committing extrajudicial murders in the State. The Mufti has vowed to put an end to the SOG’s “excesses against the common people of the State”. Ever since the new dispensation, the SOG has not conducted any counter-insurgency operation.

The Mufti has also promised to release from interrogation centres many detainees against whom there are no established cases. The promises are part of the common minimum programme adopted by the Congress-PDP alliance in the State.

Former supercop K P S Gill, who stamped out militancy in Punjab, has cautioned Mufti Sayeed against the move to release militants. “The move could result in continuance of terrorism in that State for another 20 years,” warned Gill.

Gill’s comments came after a former Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) commander, Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, and a top militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Ayub Dar, were released on bail by a Srinagar court after being lodged in different jails for 12 years. A few days ago, JKLF commander Shoukat Ahmad Bakshi, accused in the abduction of the Mufti’s daughter, Rubaiya Sayeed, was released after 13 years.

The BJP has accused the new government of being soft on militants. Therefore, as the winter capital moved to Jammu last week, the Mufti, unlike his predecessor, Farooq Abdullah, did not talk tough against his political rivals. He was cautious on the issue of release of political prisoners and a ceasefire against the militants. He said he didn’t approve of a “unilateral Ramzan (Muslim month of fasting) ceasefire” by the Centre unless the other side reciprocated it.

On the release of jailed Hurriyat Conference leaders, the Chief Minister said this would be done gradually. When his attention was drawn to the criticism by the Opposition, the Mufti said: “Were they (Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Javed Mir and Yasin Malik) not released earlier?” He said these leaders were not “holding any guns,” and at the most, would come out on the streets to protest. “We live in a democracy. We will listen to them and present our viewpoint before them,” he said.



BJP raises issue of POTA

The BJP is trying to corner the Congress for its stand on the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in the State following the release of some of the detained militants by the new J&K regime. The BJP asked the Congress to clarify its stand.

Mufti Sayeed had said the Assembly, if necessary, will review the POTA. Pointing to the Sheikh Abdullah-Indira Gandhi pact, the BJP said the State has no power to repeal any law enacted by Parliament. BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said he was surprised by the Mufti’s statement. “It is mandatory for every State to implement this Act (POTA),” he said. “Can any state say that it will not implement an Act of Parliament, like not collect income tax or implement the Indian Penal Code?” he asked.

Jaitley said the State Government has “absolutely no jurisdiction in matters of legislation or the repeal of a law that deals with terrorism and the sovereignty of India”. All doubts on the matter have been cleared by the Sheikh Abdullah-Indira Gandhi Accord in 1975, he said.

Paragraph 2 of the pact states: “The residuary powers of legislation shall remain with the State; however, Parliament will continue to have the power to make laws relating to the prevention of activities directed towards disclaiming, questioning or disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. Or bringing about cession of a part of the territory of India or secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union...” Parliament alone, Jaitley has pointed out , has the legislative power to deal with terrorism.



Significance of the new government

The PDP has been talking of peace with dignity and honour. It has also sought a dialouge with the militants to resolve the Kashmir dispute. While acknowledging Pakistan’s role and the necessity of its involvement in the dialgoue process, the PDP promises to make Kashmir a bridge between the people of India and Pakistan.

A balm for Kashmir’s wounds has been promised by rehabilitating the families of slain militants, investigating cases of men missing in custody and setting up commissions to probe allegations of custodial killings and other rights abuses. The Mufti and his party, in fact, have achieved the threshold between mainstream politics and political separatism.

The People’s Democratic Party may not have dreamt that it would be able to rout the National Conference so completely. For an Opposition party, their manifesto was workable. But now that they are in power, their task becomes difficult. Analysts expected a sudden lowering of the pitch after the poll results. But, so far, power has not brought any drastic change in their rhetoric or programme, even as the party has hammered out a coalition with the Congress, which has a completely different approach to Kashmir.

In fact, after their victory, the Mufti has reassured supporters at a rally in Anantnag that they will stand by their promises. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti went a step further, saying that though development issues like roads, water, electricity and jobs are important, the party’s priority will remain an honourable resolution of the Kashmir dispute through a dialogue.

The success of the Mufti Government has become not only a matter of survival for his party as a political force in Kashmir, it is also the last chance for a peace initiative through mainstream politics in Kashmir. Some analysts feel that if the Mufti fails, Kashmiris will never trust the democratic process within the ambit of mainstream politics and nothing will draw them to the polling booth again.

It is therefore necessary for politicians in the State and the rest of the country to behave with patience. Comments aimed solely at deriving political mileage by casting aspersions on the objectives of the new ruling alliance should be avoided. Jammu and Kashmir is not like any other State where the routine political ploy of raising dust just to make life difficult for one’s opponents is customary.

Instead, the Government of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed should be allowed enough time to settle down. Unfortunately, the BJP appears unwilling to rise above partisan compulsions and act with restraint. It has already voiced dissatisfaction with the ruling alliance’s common minimum programme and described the State Government’s intention not to use the POTA as a “terrorist-friendly” decision.