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Reduction of troops in Kashmir : Crisis blows over |
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B.I. Saini
Thankfully, the crisis in the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir over the issue of withdrawal of troops from civilian areas has blown over with the Centre agreeing to set up a committee to go into the demand made by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the related matter of revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. At one time, both major partners in the coalition, the Congress and the PDP, were sticking to their divergent stands on the issue, threatening the stability of the Ghulam Nabi Azad government. Though the Congress on its own and with the support of Independents is almost near the halfway mark in the State Assembly, the signals from the PDP’s exit would not have been a happy augury for the peace process in Kashmir.
Partly, the crisis came to the fore because of mutual suspicions among the coalition partners. Since Ghulam Nabi Azad became the Chief Minister after the end of the three-year tenure of Mufti Mohd. Sayeed of the PDP as head of the Government, and even before, the Congress got several Independents and others to join the party, increasing its strength to a level, where technically, the party has a simple majority in the State Assembly. The PDP, after the loss of chief-ministership, has been trying to make itself count in different ways. With the peace process and the dialogue mechanism between India and Pakistan making headway, and demilitarization and troop reduction being talked about in several fora, including statements by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, the PDP felt that it could sway public opinion in the Kashmir valley in its favour, if it espoused vigorously the desire of the people for reduction in forces, often seen as responsible for atrocities on innocent persons.
The Congress, which is now heading the coalition, is, however, aware that the presence of troops is needed to check the activities of terrorist elements. After the start of the dialogue process with Pakistan, infiltration from across the border and the line of control has gone down, but not completely stopped. There is also no sign of Pakistan dismantling the terrorist infrastructure such as training camps on territories controlled by it. Terror attacks may have come down in the Kashmir valley, but have not stopped completely. In such a situation, reduction of troop levels remains a tricky business.
The UPA Government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have made it clear from time to time that force levels are dependent upon a number of factors such as the level of infiltration and terrorist attacks. The Prime Minister has said that the troops are there, not as an army of occupation, but to protect the people of the state from the ravages of terrorist elements.
The decision to set up an eight-member committee consisting, among others, of officials from the Centre and the State and security forces, is a via media between the Congress and the PDP approaches to the question of troop withdrawal or gradual reduction of forces. The committee, expected to be formally announced this week, is likely to take a couple of months to come out with its findings and recommendations.
Apart from continuation of the Congress-PDP coalition, the outcome of the confabulations between the Prime Minister and the PDP patron in New Delhi last week also heralds well for the India-Pakistan peace process. If and when troop cuts are decided upon, it will be good both for the people as well as the security forces. Pakistan’s role will be crucial if the troop cuts, when decided upon, are to lead to a better future for the state. The move will fail if Pakistan uses the troop cuts to step up infiltration and “continue sponsoring” terrorist outfits.
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