NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Binoo Joshi in Jammu
Leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir's ruling National Conference party are dismayed over the central government's decision to give security forces more powers to deal with separatist violence in the Jammu region.
The National Conference, which has its support base in the Kashmir valley and Muslim-dominated parts of Jammu, had opposed the measures in the past because Muslims are apprehensive that security forces could misuse powers that allow them to conduct searches and open fire without obtaining the approval of civilian authorities.
The central government cleared a proposal to implement the Disturbed Areas Act and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act at a high-level meeting convened by Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was present at the meeting, also attended by Defence Minister Jaswant Singh.
The move followed two major attacks by militants in the Jammu region. The militants gunned down 10 people at the Jammu railway station on August 7, four days after they massacred 15 Hindu shepherds in Doda district.
National Conference leaders believe the central government bulldozed all opposition from the state to the move for its own political reasons.
"I don't see any reason for the developments that have taken place. What is the message we are conveying? That we're incapable of handling a situation which has all the old ingredients and nothing new," a government source quoted an angry minister as saying at a meeting of the state cabinet in Srinagar on Thursday evening.
The minister was incensed over 'Abdullah's compliance with what the central government wanted'.
Abdullah had not opposed the government's move to implement the Disturbed Areas Act at Wednesday's meeting.
National Conference ministers made repeated references to instances of the security forces stepping out of limits in the Kashmir valley when it was declared a disturbed area in July 1990.
The ministers believe that the central government forced the state government's hand in promulgating the order that brought the Jammu region under the Disturbed Areas Act, simply to please Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP, which enjoys support among Hindus living in Jammu, had been demanding that security arrangements in Doda should be taken over by the army.
This demand, National Conference leaders feel, is linked to elections to the assembly in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh in few months time.
"It is more of a political decision than reflective of a clear strategy to combat terrorism in Kashmir," said a leader.
BJP leaders have, however, welcomed the Central government's decision, saying it would boost the morale of the security forces and instil confidence among Hindus in Kashmir.
State BJP president Daya Krishan Kotwal said, "Now, security forces can act freely, with no legal chains tied to their hands. Hindus in Doda will feel safer."
Kotwal was not unduly worried about apprehensions that the special powers given to the security forces would lead to human rights violations. "What human rights? If an innocent is killed when security forces fight militants, don't mind. This is the price that the fight against terrorism entails."
Indo-Asian News Service
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
