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Kashmir : PM calls for making LoC Line of Peace

	July 23, 2007

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir should become a Line of Peace with freer flow of ideas, goods, services and people. Speaking at the University of Jammu after being conferred a Doctor of Honorary Degree of Letters on July 15, he said the dialogue with Pakistan, despite difficulties, would continue as there was no alternative, but to work for building peace.



Dr. Manmohan Singh said the dialogue is to end the bitter legacy of the last 60 years and begin a new chapter in bilateral relations. He said that he believes that Jammu and Kashmir can one day become a symbol of India-Pakistan cooperation, rather than a symbol of conflict.



The Prime Minister said: “As I have stated earlier, borders cannot be changed, but they can be made irrelevant. There can be no question of divisions or partitions, but the Line of Control can become a line of peace. I also know that the yearning for peace is most intensely felt in Jammu and Kashmir.



“The natural resources of the State could be used for the benefit of its people. They need no longer be points of contention or a source of conflict. We could, for example, use the land and water resources of the region jointly for the benefit of all the people living on both sides of the Line of Control.”



While emphasising the importance of the war against terrorism, he referred to the recent spate of terrorism-related incidents in Pakistan that had lessons for the State.



The Government was committed to winning the hearts and minds of all. It would not allow anyone to stop the heartbeat of the peace-loving people of the State.



The diversity of Jammu and Kashmir should be respected and institutions built to create a harmonious united State,



The aspirations of all in the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions must be taken into account and a common understanding reached on ways to meet all of them. Dr. Singh said: “My vision is to build a ‘Naya Jammu and Kashmir,’ which symbolises peace, prosperity and people’s power.”





Return of Pandits top priority



Laying the foundation stone of a township for Kashmiri Pandits at Jagti, 10 km. from Jammu, the Prime Minister said the dignified return of the Kashmiri migrants was the priority of the Government. Dr. Manmohan Singh said efforts were on to create a conducive atmosphere for their safe return. About 200 houses have been built in Budgam district for the families of those who want to return to the valley.



Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said instead of creating separate townships for the migrants in the valley, residential accommodation could be provided for them in the native villages itself.



Mixed reaction to PM’s statement on LoC



The People’s Democratic Party has welcomed the Prime Minister’s statement on improving ties with Pakistan and resolving the problem of Jammu and Kashmir through a comprehensive mechanism. The Political Affairs Committee of the PDP at its meeting in Srinagar on July 17 said that Dr. Manmohan Singh’s statement is a significant and positive move towards consolidation of peace and confidence building process.



Former Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Ayer has commended the Prime Minister’s suggestion that the LoC could become a line of peace.



The BJP has, however, criticised Dr. Manmohan Singh’s statement saying that he had no right to make such an offer which it claimed went against the spirit of a 1994 Parliamentary resolution. BJP president Rajnath Singh, speaking in New Delhi on July 16, alleged that Dr. Manmohan Singh was putting the security of the nation at stake for the sake of gathering votes.



During his visit to Jammu, there are reports that the PDP raised the issue of demilitarization with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Dr. Singh said violence was continuing in the state and infiltration had increased. He made it clear that the Army was deployed to protect citizens from the inhuman acts of terrorists, sources said. Dr. Manmohan Singh told the five-member PDP delegation which met him that no government could give militants a free run by sending troops back to the barracks as violence had not abated and infiltration across the line of control had shown an increase.



So far as relocation of troops is concerned, the Prime Minister said this could not be done by politicians and such issues should be left to the discretion of professionals dealing with terrorism.



In a related development, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Home Minister Shivraj Patil met in New Delhi on July 16 to take stock of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. They exchanged views on the issue of continuance of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in insurgency-affected states. It is learnt that the meeting also reviewed the demand of some political parties for troop reduction and demilitarization of Jammu and Kashmir. Defence Minister Antony is to visit the state on July 27.



Meanwhile, there are reports that the Ghulam Nabi Azad Government has told the Centre that despite the gradual decline in violence in the state, the situation did not justify any reduction of troops at the present juncture. The State Government’s view was conveyed in its presentation to the Central panel headed by Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt which visited the state recently.,



PDP patron Mufti Mohd. Sayeed said in Srinagar on July 21 that he expects positive action on his party’s demand for reduction of troops and revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. At a meeting of PDP functionaries, he said the situation now demanded such confidence building measures to impact the fast changing ground situation in the state.





Top Lashkar commander killed



The security forces have gained a major success with the gunning down of Mohd. Khalid-ur-Rehman, a Pakistani national who played a key role in organising the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s pan Indian terror network. He was killed in a shootout with police and troops near Bhaderwah in Doda district on July 18.



A resident of Bahawalpur in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Khalid-ur-Rahman served as divisional commander of the Lashkar’s operations in the mountainous Doda area. Apart from executing a near-successful attempt on the life of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, he, it is believed, was the architect of plans to set up new Lashkar networks in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.



Khalid-ur-Rahman’s elimination marks a major success for the Jammu and Kashmir police, who lost one of their most-decorated officers in the course of a year-long hunt for the terrorist. Deputy Superintendent of Police Shaily Singh was killed near Bhaderwah in May after Lashkar spies discovered that he was engaged in a covert surveillance operation directed against their commander.



Intelligence sources say Khalid-ur-Rahman had ambitious plans to set up Lashkar cells in several States. While few details of the cells are available, at least seven Lashkar operatives are known to have been sent into Mumbai this March by a boat owned by a lieutenant of the Karachi-based mafioso Dawood Ibrahim Kaksar.



Delhi police personnel, who participated in the communications-intelligence operation which led to the Bhaderwah encounter, recently detected large-scale movement of hawala funds intended to feed the Lashkar commander’s expansion plans.



Khalid-ur-Rahman was amongst the Lashkar’s longest-serving Pakistani nationals. He is believed to have joined the organisation’s campaign in the State just after the Kargil war, and helped to coordinate a string of fidayeen (suicide squad) strikes against military targets soon after.



In another incident, two militants, one of whom identified as Pakistani national Haroon Rasheed were killed in an encounter in Patroo forest of Kupwara on July 14. Security forces unearthed a huge arms haul including 60 kg. of RDX in Baramulla district on July 15.





Grenade attacks on Amartnath pilgrims



There were two grenade attacks on Amaranth pilgrims last week. Seventeen persons were injured in the first grenade attack at Baltal in Sonamarg area on Tuesday, July 17. In the second grenade attack on July 21, 13 persons were injured in Pahalgam. Police and paramilitary forces have intensified checking of vehicles to curb movement of militants following the grenade attacks.



PDP nominee elected Legislative Council Chairman



Ghulam Nabi Lone of the PDP and joint candidate of the ruling coalition was elected Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council on July 20. He succeeds Abdul Rasheed Dar of the National Conference who completed his term on March 10.



There were noisy scenes in the Council on Friday, July 20, with the Opposition National Conference entering the well of the House in support of the demand for a discussion on human rights violations.