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Kashmir : Peace must for progress, says Kalam

	July 31, 2006

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has said that there is need for restoration of peace in Jammu and Kashmir if the state is to prosper. Putting forth a nine-point prosperity mission for Jammu and Kashmir, President Kalam during his visit to Srinagar said on July 28 that the mission can transform the state into a developed one by 2015. He was addressing a joint session of both Houses of the State legislature at the Sher-e-Kashmir international conference centre. The State Governor, Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chief Minister Mufti Mohd. Syed were among those present on the occasion.



The Governor in his remarks described the Jammu and Kashmir legislature as a symbol of self-rule and temple of democracy in the state.



There was a shut down in the valley in response to the general strike call given by separatist organizations. Shops and business establishments, educational institutions and banks were closed. The President began his visit to the state from Ladakh. Ignoring the separatists’ call, a large number of people including women and children, greeted President Kalam on his arrival in Leh.



On the second day of his visit, President Kalam stressed the need for speeding up the judicial process in the state. He said the terrorism-related cases should be dealt with on priority and “without sacrificing” the principles of natural justice. He also stressed the need to provide compulsory NCC training to all students in schools and colleges.



He was speaking on the occasion of diamond jubilee celebrations of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.



“The judiciary must consider creating a fast judicial process for settling terrorism-related cases. It can find a method by which cases pertaining to terrorism are dealt with on priority and not allowed to drag on through multiple adjournments and appeals,” he said.



The President said fast action was also needed to rehabilitate the militancy-affected and those keen to join the mainstream. He said the protection of human rights of citizens without prejudice to national interests was an important factor where the judiciary could play a major role as it was the “final resort for dispensation of justice.”





Infiltration going up



Home Minister Shivraj Patil has said that the number of terrorist incidents has decreased, but infiltration has gone up. He said during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha on July 26 that terrorists are now coming into the country not just from Pakistan, but from other neighbouring countries as well.



Replying to the adjournment motion by the BJP in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, July 25, the Home Minister said that the terrorists had taken advantage of buses and trains launched as part of confidence building measures to sneak in from Pakistan and Bangladesh. He said this conclusion is based on intelligence inputs that those who came to the country to watch cricket matches and went missing, might have been terrorists. This has become an area of concern as security agencies track terror suspects in the wake of the recent blasts.



Emphasising that it was not just border areas, but even coastal areas that have become vulnerable, Patil admitted that terror groups have been using the porous coastline to achieve their objectives.





Economy, main target



The Army, in the meantime, has said that the Jammu and Kashmir economy was the main target of terrorists. Referring to incidents during the past few months in the state, the Army said on July 28 that these were meant to cause economic impairment to the state by the separatist militants and terror groups.



First, it was the tourists who were attacked in May this year and the residents initially refused to believe that Kashmiri militant outfits were behind these attacks, a handout issued by the Army in Srinagar said. “Some even started blaming the Himachalis, claiming them to be jealous of the tourist traffic moving north. Then came the attacks on Amarnath pilgrims, which could not have been blamed on the Himachalis. So deep was the anguish over these attacks that in the month of June, businesses pulled down shutters in Srinagar as a mark of protest,” it said, adding “people realised that such treatment of guests could only result in one thing - a crippled economy.”



These “unexplained and self-destructive acts” also coincided with the killing of nine seasonal labourers from Bihar and Nepal in an Anantnag village on June 12, resulting in the obvious - a sudden drying up of tourist traffic.



The statement adds, “The question is why is the Hizbul Mujahideen, a predominantly Kashmiri militant group whose stated aim is the liberation of Kashmir, becoming party to this self-destructing cooperation with the Lashkar ?” Again providing the answer to this “critical” question, the handout said, “As of now, mixed signals are emerging from the organization. On one hand, there are reports of Hizbul trying to play a more prominent political role in search of the final solution to the Kashmir imbroglio.” On the other, indicators suggest that the Hizbul is gaining pan-India notoriety.





Soldiers picked up for LeT links



In the first incident of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir, three Army jawans have been arrested in the border district of Poonch on the charges of having links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba.



The incident comes close on the heels of a warning by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan that terrorists might have infiltrated into the IAF and armed forces.



The arrested soldiers, identified as lance-naik Mohammad Shakeel, sepoys Abdul Haq and Mohammad Sharief, were in the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JKLI).



Their arrest has come on the basis of the interrogation of two policemen, Sikendar and Kabir, who were picked up by the intelligence agencies following inputs from Tipu Sultan and two other terrorists arrested in connection with the serial blasts in the bus stand in Jammu in early June. One of these terrorists was a close relative of Sikendar.



Sources said the soldiers told the interrogators that the LeT commander of the area, Abu Osama, was a frequent visitor to their houses and had established contact with them. Osama was recently killed in a joint operation by the Army and the CRPF.



This is the first time that Army jawans have been arrested on account of terrorist connections. However, policemen were apprehended from time to time on such charges.