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Kashmir: New government in Pakistan may put the issue on the backburner

	March 03, 2008

Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, whose party is set to take over the reins of the country, has said that he is prepared to set aside the Kashmir issue to focus on other aspects to improve relations with India. In an interview telecast on CNN-IBN, he said that relations between India and Pakistan should not be held hostage to the Kashmir issue. He said, the two countries can wait so that future generations resolve the dispute in a mature manner in an atmosphere of trust.



Zardari said he is determined to break the barriers and mindsets that hamper trade between the two countries.



“The idea is that we feel for Kashmir, the PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) has always felt for Kashmir. We have a strong Kashmir policy. We have always had one,” he said.



“But having said that, we don’t want to be hostage to that situation. That is a situation we can agree to disagree (on). Countries do, we have positions, you have positions. We can agree to disagree on everything,” he said in Karan Thapar’s ‘Devil’s Advocate’ programme on CNN-IBN.



Asked if the PPP would be willing to put aside the Kashmir issue just as India and China had set aside their border dispute to focus on other aspects of their ties, Zardari said: “Exactly.”



The statement marks a shift in Pakistan’s stated position that the Kashmir issue has to be tackled along with efforts on other fronts to improve relations between the two countries.



Pakistan has held this position despite India’s repeated insistence that the two countries set aside the Kashmir issue because of its complexity and work for developing relations in other fields, particularly trade.



Militants breaching LoC despite heavy snowfall



There are reports that militants are trying to cross over to Jammu and Kashmir through the Line of Control despite heavy snowfall. The first such attempt to defy the high walls of snow to infiltrate came to notice in Keran sector on February 22. Two infiltrators were shot dead by the security forces.



Observers say that the attempt came despite there being nothing but snow in the area, about a 110-km from Srinagar.



The mountains look like an undulating ocean of snow - enchantingly beautiful for onlookers, but a big challenge for soldiers guarding the borders.



Kashmir has experienced the heaviest snowfall in decades this year. Nanda post in Gulmarg sector received over 24-feet snow while Cheema post in the same sector got almost 17 feet. One would think it's humanly impossible to cross in such conditions. And yet, militants chose to make their first attempt at such a time.



This attempt was detected and neutralised, but this could well be the beginning, admitted an Army officer.



The security forces are expecting heightened activity this year at the LoC. Especially in view of the February 22 attempt, made despite the hostile terrain and round-the-clock vigil of Indian soldiers, who are under orders to shoot in case of any suspicious movement.



Col. Mathur, of the 15 Corps, attributed it to the "sheer desperation of militants."



Desperation for what? "These are foreign militants in pursuit of their agenda of global jihad," said the officer, who has been monitoring cross-border activity.



“The most disturbing fact is that terror camps are still intact. Militants have been shifted to the launching pads. There are at least 26 of them in the sectors facing the Valley," the Army officer said.



Separatists critical of Deoband decree



While the rest of the world welcomed the Deoband decree, separatists in Kashmir have regretted what they called the failure of Deoband religious scholars in making a distinction between jihad and terrorism. They said that the decree was correct but one sided.



“Maulana (Margoob-ur-Rehman) is correct in saying that Islam rejects terrorism, but there is no interpretation especially because various powers are dubbing genuine struggles as terrorism,” Sadaqat Hussain, a spokesman of the Muzafarrabad-based militant alliance United Jihad Council said.



“We respect the scholars at Deoband and we hope that they would discuss the struggles in Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, and Iraq and interpret it in the light of what Koran says,” Hussain added.



The decree did not evoke the expected response from Kashmir. Sheikh Aziz, one of the executive members of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, agreed that Islam does not allow killing of non-combatants. “But the scholars have touched one aspect of the problem and remained silent on the real problem of Kashmir,” he said.



Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads a parallel Hurriyat faction, talked of his respect for the Deoband but insisted “the decree would have no impact on the Kashmir struggle which is political”.





Increased security for Chief Minister



The Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to screen the luggage of Cabinet ministers and senior bureaucrats who accompany the Chief Minister during official tours onboard the state aircraft. The decision was taken after intelligence inputs about a possible terror mole in the CM’s office.



Well-placed sources in the administration said the state Home Department has, in a circular, issued fresh guidelines to ministers and senior bureaucrats to get their baggage checked by commandos of the state police’s Special Security Group (SSG) before travelling with the Chief Minister. “This has been done in view of the increased threat perception to the Chief Minister and also to ensure that there is no breach of security during his travel onboard the state aircraft,” a senior bureaucrat said. A number of people in Azad’s personal staff were withdrawn a month back, following intelligence inputs and he was advised not to make unscheduled visits or address public rallies.



As controversy persists over the recovery of arms and ammunition by the CRPF at Chinote village in Bhaderwah, the J&K police have arrested three people in connection with what is being described as a stage-managed drama by CRPF officials.



The arrested men have confessed to receiving the ammunition from one constable Farooq Ahmed of the CRPF’s 113 Battalion, said sources. The trio have acknowledged their involvement in the conspiracy.



The police claim the CRPF team “stage-managed” the seizure to win accolades for foiling militant plans to target VVIPs and avail monetary benefits.



An internal police inquiry has been ordered into the explosives haul apparently made hours before UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's visit to Bhaderwah. “Our information reveals that the RDX haul claimed by the CRPF was fake,” said Farooq Khan, DIG Police Doda range. “I have ordered an inquiry.”



Jhelum power project to be revived



Asia’s second-oldest hydel power project, over the Jhelum river near Uri in Kashmir, is being revived by the Jammu & Kashmir government.



Situated on the historic Jhelum Valley Road, connecting Srinagar with Muzzaffarabad (PoK), this 9-MW hydel power project was constructed in 1905 by European engineers.



Commonly known as Mohura hydel power project, it is situated just a few kilometres from the 480-MW Uri hydel power project. The power house of the project is lying defunct.



With the objective to promote tourism and protect it as a heritage site, the government is contemplating to prepare a fresh detailed project report (DPR) and hand over the project to a private company by inviting global tenders.



The project, which was based on the old European and American technology, was constructed with the help of two engineers from Germany and Hungary. One of them, however, died during trial run of the project due to electric shock.



The project was extensively damaged during the Partition in 1947. An effort was made by the state government to restore it in 1966 and it remained functional for some time. However, for the last three decades, the project has remained defunct with its employees sitting idle, while many have retired.



No mass deaths of Himalayan goats



The Jammu and Kashmir government has denied reports that 600 rare Himalayan goats – famed for their Pashmina wool – perished and thousands face starvation after their desert habitat was blanketed with snow during the region’s worst snowfall in three decades.



Disputing the reports of mass scale deaths of Himalayan goats, the Leh MLA and J&K Minister for Industries and Commerce, Nawang Rigzin Jora, said that his local sources had confirmed that nothing of that sort had occurred in the Ladakh region. Deaths are common every year but there were no deaths on a mass scale.