CANDIDATES sponsored by surrendered militant groups are particularly conspicuous in the Lok Sabha elections in the Kashmir Valley. Among these the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon has floated a party called the Awami League, the JK Ikhwan of south Kashmir has floated the Patriotic Peoples' Front, and other groups have fielded Independents. In Anantnag, as many as four candidates have the backing of the surrendered militant organisations.
This entry of surrendered groups into politics has come in for severe criticism from candidates of mainstream parties. Congressmen have been the most vocal although the surrendered militants were nurtured at a time when their party was at the Centre. Even as campaigning kicked off, Taj Mohi-ud-Deen, vice-presi dent of the PCC and Congress candidate from Anantnag, was attacked by mili tants supporting the Awami League Says he: "If I get elected, I am going to raise the surrendered militants issue inDelhi. How can you allow murderers who walk around with guns to participate in elections?"
At a meeting of Congress workers attended by former aviation minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the main concern voiced was the harassment of Congress candidates and workers by surrendered groups, which was making campaigning difficult. Congressmen were piqued that they should be hampered by militants who enjoyed the support of the counter-insurgency arm of the army, the Rashtriya Rifles.
Though the official line has been that surrendered militants have also given up their arms, it is no secret that they possess weapons. According to Army Corps Commander, Major-General J.S. Dhillon, some of the surrendered militants have been given weapons for their safety. Militants now on the Government side—like Papa Khistwari, the self-styled deputy commander of the Ikhwan-ul-Musli-moon—talk of how their group has been provided weapons by the army.
For his part, Khistwari says that his job is to ensure voter turnout. In fact, a day before the May 23 polling, he said he was prepared to guarantee a 50 per cent turnout, adding: "I don't need guns. Just this lathi is enough to keep pro-Pak militants away and ensure polling."
The surrendered militants have also not hesitated to take on their rivals with muscle power. Points out Mohanlal Sopori, vice-president of the state BJP: "The biggest mistake made by the Congress government in Delhi was to allow the surrendered militants to enter politics when their comrades go around with guns." But all that is water under the bridge; surrendered militants are here to stay and to get rid of them would involve another bloody operation.
Tags