Author: ML Kotru
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 13, 2001
As the shockwaves in the wake of
Tehelka revelations continue to rattle New Delhi the news from the Valley
is acquiring disturbing proportions, the depredations of the Islamic jihadis,
to use the term now coined by the Hurriyat and Jamaat-e-Islami leader,
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, have become even more brazen than before.
The targeting or the paramilitary
camp in the heart of Srinagar, behind the Bakshi Stadium, alongside the
once-posh residential area of Wazirbagh, by yet another Islamic jihadi
squad and, more ominously the simultaneous shouting of pro-Pakistan slogans
by neighborhood goons, is giving an entirely new dimension to the Pak-sponsored
proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir.
The jihadis, belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba
and Jaishe Mohammad, with Geelani serving as the puppet master, are virtually
daring the Indian State to react in whatever manner it chooses except for
the fact that the Indian State, for its own reasons, has chosen not to
put its might against the terrorists. The ceasefire is only encouraging
the jihadi terrorists to operate almost openly even in urban centres, Srinagar
included, apart from their routine attacks on Security Forces.
And, with the ceasefire having put
the Security Forces into a bind, it is not surprising that men like Ali
Shah Geelani appear to be having the run of the place, exhorting the people
to join the jihad. It's another matter that he may not be getting the kind
of response he expects; but the truth is that his sustained campaign is
beginning to carry influence.
The Lashkar, for its part, feels
emboldened to issue open threats to government employees, particularly
the local constabulary, to desert their posts or face their wrath. It stands
to the credit of the Kashmir police personnel that despite suffering a
large number of casualties they have by and large ignored the threats issued
by pro-Pakistani jihadi groups. The danger, though is, with the State Government
doing little on the ground to restore public confidence, even the police
morale may take a dip.
According to keen Valley-based observers,
New Delhi's preoccupation with the fallout of Tehelka, even as the ceasefire
continues, has virtually led to a state of paralysis among those whose
responsibility it should be to take the cessation of fire to its logical
conclusion. There is no point, they insist, in merely repeating the old
mantra that the ball is in the Pakistani court, that Islamabad must pull
out its jihadis from the State before starting any from of negotiations.
Pakistan has made it abundantly
clear that it has no intention to oblige New Delhi by owning that it is
sending jihadis into the State. On the contrary Pakistan has taken steps
to assure the jihadi outfits based in Pakistan that it is not opposed to
the "jihad in Kashmir". It has encouraged its plenipotentiary in Srinagar,
Ali Shah Geelani, to harp on the theme that the crisis in Kashmir is an
Islamic crisis. And Geelani has more than obliged.
He has lately taken on what he calls
the secularist elements within the Hurriyat conference. His criticism of
men like Abdul Ghani Lone and Abdul Ghani Bhat is becoming more trenchant.
So much so that the twosome and some others have been put on the back-foot.
Abdul Ghani Bhat who, at one time, under pressure from some of his colleagues
within the Hurriyat, had asked the Jamaat-e-Islami to name someone other
than Geelani on the Hurriyat executive, has had to eat the humble pie.
He has now been forced to renominate Geelani to the Hurriyat team, which
he still hopes will go to Islamabad to meet leaders there.
Whether the team at all makes it
to Islamabad or not is another matter, but lack of any fresh initiative
from New Delhi to tackle the ground situation in the Valley is certainly
sending all the wrong signals. For one thing it is exposing the Security
Forces to risks they need not be subjected to. For another, it is eroding
the faith of the people in the ability of the Security Forces to ward off
the renewed terrorist activity now wearing the robes of an Islamic jihad.
The jihadis are making the best
of the situation. Their propaganda machine has been put into high gear.
Audio cassettes of Maulana Azhar Masood's Islamic exhortations to Kashmiris,
pamphlets on the virtues of jihad issued by the Lashkar and Geelani's printed
calls to Muslims to raise the Pakistani banner are mocking the Indian State.
The time may well have come for
New Delhi to reassess its options in Jammu & Kashmir. External Affairs
Minister, Jaswant Singh, now Defence Minister as well, will no doubt try
to score points during his next month's visit to Washington in his talks
with General Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State. Self-righteous platitudes
do not make sense to soldiers of proven mettle like Colin Powell. As George
W Bush's Secretary of State, he will no doubt be guided by his own country's
national interest even as he may already have indicated his respect for
the Indian democracy. But as a soldier he knows better than that. He will
have greater respect for a powerful India.
Let's not overlook the other reality:
The Republican administration continues to regard Pakistan as a friend
much as it may disapprove of its involvement with the Taliban. Defence
Minister Jaswant Singh would do well to put his house in Kashmir in order
before setting off for Washington.