1. Home
2. Columnist

Peace process in Jammu and Kashmir suspended

By Satish Misra. Dated: 6/20/2018 12:54:39 AM

Cruel killing of veteran journalist Shujaat Bukhari on June 14 during the holy month of Ramzan virtually on the eve of the Eid is a sinister conspiracy against the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Yet another citizen, who was the voice of reason and was supportive of the political process to resolve all outstanding issues coming in the way of restoration of normalcy, has been silenced by violent means. He had stood for dialogue and had supported the political process to resolve all issues.
Peace in the troubled state has been eluding people. Every time an effort to initiate a process to usher in peace is undertaken, it is nipped in the bud. Pattern has been the same.
Bukhari's elimination is aimed at derailing the process of peace that began with the unilateral declaration of ceasefire by the Modi government. Visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to Srinagar was also an attempt to strengthen the initiative.
On June 6, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has warned that "militants were desperate to sabotage the ceasefire". The attack by terrorists in Bandipora and the abduction and killing of a soldier from Pulwama were the part of the same effort to undermine the ceasefire of operations by the security forces.
Spiral of violence has been continuing in the state for about three decades. On 21 May 1990, Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Moulana Maulvi Muhammad Farooq Shah was gunned down at his residence. Moulana Muhammad Farooq Shah, who was heading a coalition of disparate political parties called All Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee, was ostensibly seeking a resolution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations and wishes of the people of the state.
Assassination of Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir paved the way for hardliners thus giving rise to militancy and marginalization of voices of moderation. Hardliners began to prevail and started taking over the reins of majority of organizations. An umbrella outfit-All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) came into existence that opposed democratic process in the state and opposed elections.
Professor Abdul Ahad Wani, a leading intellectual and an ideologue of the JKLF, was killed on 31 December 1993 thus sowing seeds of distrust among the people.
Hurriyat Conference was backed by Pakistan but there were organisatons within the APHC that were moderate and were supportive of talks with the Centre but hardliners controlled it. People's Conference chairman Abdul Ghani Lone, who was a moderate voice within the APHC, was killed on 21 May 2002.
All these killings were aimed at creating distrust between the people of the state and the Centre. Dialogue became suspect and any leader, political outfit or organization who dared to defy became the target of violence. In last three decades since calm and peace in the state was forcibly disrupted, thousands of innocent citizens along with Armed Forces and central and state Police and Para-military forces have lost their lives in the continuing violence. Workers and leaders of the political parties like the National Conference, the Congress and the BJP have become the targets of militants and terrorists.
In close consultation with the state government, the Modi government had halted operations by the security forces to break the cycle of violence and counter-violence. Halting of operations was also aimed at preparing the ground for talks between the DGMOs of the Indian and Pakistani armies so that 2003 ceasefire agreement could be adhered in letter and spirit. As a result cease fire by security forces has not been extended and operations have been resumed by security forces.
(Dr. Satish Misra is a Veteran Journalist & Research Associate with Observer Research Foundation)
--[IFS]