Ganderbal shocker
THE euphoria over the peaceful conduct of the Assembly elections and the installation of an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir has unfortunately proved to be short-lived. The Ganderbal terror attack, which claimed the lives of a doctor and six labourers at a tunnel construction site, leaves no room for doubt that Pakistan will persist with its nefarious policy of bleeding India — and J&K in particular — with a thousand cuts. It’s no less worrisome that this attack took place just days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had an informal interaction with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Islamabad.
New Delhi has repeatedly made it clear that talks cannot be resumed unless Islamabad/Rawalpindi turns off the terror tap. But it is no coincidence that the terror attack has taken place in Ganderbal, the constituency of J&K’s new Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Clearly, Pakistan-backed terror groups are sending the unmistakable message — after targeting the Jammu region in recent months — that the remarkably peaceful polls in the UT could not have taken place without the Pakistan military establishment’s tacit agreement. The terror groups are now turning the spotlight back on Kashmir. The attempt to disrupt an infrastructure project is aimed not just at stalling development in the Valley and scaring away migrant labourers and tourists who have a crucial role in boosting J&K’s economy, it is also to demonstrate that no one in Kashmir is fully safe. That’s why Central and UT governments need to work in tandem to restore peace and normalcy.
Clearly, Pakistan’s army chief, Gen Asim Munir, has a second message to his own government, in response to former PM Nawaz Sharif telling visiting Indian journalists last week, “We have lost the last 75 years and it is important we don’t lose the next 75.” Which is, that hosting an Indian foreign minister on Pakistani soil is all very well, but the Army cannot be kept out of any conversation with India.
