J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Hunt on for Al-Qaida men in J&K
Jammu, January 24
In a bid to discourage the US Government in seeking military role in Jammu and Kashmir following reports that Al-Qaida men and the Taliban have sneaked into the state, Indian troops have started an operation in and around the Rajwar belt of Kupwara district.

APHC divided over poll issue
Jammu, January 24
What role is the 23-member APHC conglomerate supposed to play in the wake of Pakistan’s crackdown on religious extremists and some militant groups? This question seems to weigh heavy on the minds of the seven members of the executive committee of the APHC who have received confusing signals from senior functionaries of the US, the UK and the German embassies in Delhi.

Border Security Force men patrol near the border with Pakistan in the Sambha sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. — Reuters photo

Hunt on for Al-Qaida men in J&K
Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 24
In a bid to discourage the US Government in seeking military role in Jammu and Kashmir following reports that Al-Qaida men and the Taliban have sneaked into the state, Indian troops have started an operation in and around the Rajwar belt of Kupwara district. During the operation large quantities of arms and ammunition were recovered from forest belts.

Reports said a 15-member group of the Al-Qaida and the Taliban sneaked into the Rajwar area recently where foreign mercenaries had been in full control during the past over six years. Earlier, an attempt was made to “liberate” the area but the operation was suspended when a Brigadier was killed.

Official sources said during the past one week infiltration had stopped because of snow-covered border routes and deployment of additional troops along the LoC but field reports had indicated that 15 to 20 Al-Qaida men had infiltrated into Kupwara district from across the border. It is in this context that senior American officials, now in Delhi, have been pressing for military role for the USA in order to hunt for the Taliban and the Al-Qaida men in Jammu and Kashmir.

Delhi is said to have rejected the American suggestion and has agreed to share intelligence reports only. As such the Indian troops have been directed to launch operations on a massive scale for flushing out all foreign mercenaries from the Kashmir valley, especially from the Rajwar forest belt.

Senior Defence Ministry sources said of late there had been no infiltration of Al-Qaida men on a large scale, adding that some groups of the Al-Qaida and the Taliban, which fled from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime, had crossed into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and had been brought close to the border across the LoC.

Whether these guerrillas and extremists will manage to cross into Kashmir depends on the support they receive from the Pakistan troops and on the management of the border by the Indian forces.

However, security experts feel that the time has come when the Indian forces should be motivated to launch multi-dimensional operations against the militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir. Basing their argument on the past experience these experts point out that operations in selective areas can prove counter-productive.

They said since the border routes were buried under heavy snow effective operations during the current juncture could result in smashing militant bases in different parts of the state and areas which stood under the “occupation” of the militants could be “liberated” before fresh groups of rebels ventured to cross into Jammu and Kashmir.

Once an impression went round that the security forces meant business and had launched a “war” against the militants within the state there was no need then to cross the border to destroy training camps. It could also result in the restoration of confidence of the people in the establishment.

APHC divided over poll issue
M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 24
What role is the 23-member APHC conglomerate supposed to play in the wake of Pakistan’s crackdown on religious extremists and some militant groups?

This question seems to weigh heavy on the minds of the seven members of the executive committee of the APHC who have received confusing signals from senior functionaries of the US, the UK and the German embassies in Delhi. The APHC had sent a three-member team to Delhi to interact with functionaries of several embassies in order to get a feedback on their stand on the Kashmir issue.

Inside reports said after the three APHC leaders decided to cut short their visit in protest against the police crackdown on Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir, senior officials of the US, the UK and the German embassies visited the APHC headquarters in Delhi where they held discussions with the Hurriyat leaders.

According to these reports some embassy officials favoured restoration of greater autonomy to the state, others suggested that an independent Kashmir could be the solution to the vexed problem. Yet others wanted APHC leaders to contest the Assembly poll.

It is in this context that the APHC executive committee is meeting shortly in Srinagar where it will explore the possibility of entering into the poll fray. The Hurriyat team is said to have conveyed to the foreign diplomats that they were not totally opposed to participating in the elections provided the poll was supervised by international observers and held with the purpose of establishing which political group was the genuine representative of the people of Kashmir.

They informed the embassy officials that they could not be party to the campaign which the state and the Central governments invariably launched during the poll that the elections amounted to a mandate in favour of the state’s accession to India.

The opinion in the APHC continues to be divided over the participation in the next Assembly poll. The People’s Conference Chairman, Mr Abdul Gani Lone, the JKLF chief, Mohammad Yasin Mailk, and Molvi Abbas Ansari, a Shia leader, seem to be inclined to participate in the elections if international observers are appointed to supervise the elections. Delhi has so far not agreed to this demand. It is ready to appoint some Indian intellectuals, suggested by the separatists, as observers.

Indications are that the APHC and other separatist leaders are under pressure to participate in the elections, directly or indirectly, to upset the National Conference applecart. They have been told by some of their supporters that if the National Conference won the next Assembly poll it would be treated as the genuine representative of the people of Kashmir and for six years the role of the APHC would be confined to the four walls of its headquarters.

The APHC has also been told that in the event of tripartite talks materialising in the future the APHC will have no legitimate claim for acting as the people’s representatives in the parleys.

For the time being the APHC may not announce any clear-cut policy on its participation in the elections because it may lose public credibility. Its leaders are not sure whether their candidates will be able to win and as such it will not expose its inherent infirmity in carrying people with it.

But it is firm on rejecting the Democratic Freedom Party chief, Mr Shabir Ahmed Shah’s suggestion that he will rejoin the conglomerate provided all its constituents are merged into the APHC. The Chairman of the APHC, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, said, “We cannot accept Mr Shah’s suggestion.” He said it was not possible for the Jamait-e-Islami, the Awami Action Committee, the JKLF and the People’s Conference to close their shops and merge with the APHC.

Professor Bhat said Mr Shah was in the habit of “floating ideas” which were too ethereal to be practicable. He said the doors of the APHC were open for Mr Shah who could be a member of the General Council.

Indications are that the APHC will like to adopt a wait-and-watch policy instead of risking its separate existence by announcing its willingness to participate in the elections. Even if it favours taking part in the elections it will impose some severe conditions which the government and the Election Commission may not accept.