The Spaces Of Suspicion

There's been a general feeling among Kashmiris that Farooq cannot but be a "stooge" in the hands of the Centre; this opinion gained further credence after the autonomy resolution was summarily rejected by New Delhi. With his back to the wall and with the local polls looming large, Farooq wants to portray a pro-people image and show that he can function independently. Says a political observer in Srinagar,"Pichhle election mein autonomy yaad ayee, aur ab Chitsinghpura (Farooq raised the issue of autonomy in the last election and now he's talking about Chitsinghpura)." However, while talking to Outlook in Jammu, Farooq articulated his "official" position as well as explaining the reason for ordering the probe. "We are convinced that militants are behind the massacre. But since Justice Pandian has himself linked the Brakpora incident with Pathribal and Chitsinghpura, we've requested him to investigate the massacre," he said.

That there are differences between the state government and the Centre became clear when a top state official, on condition of anonymity, expressed his doubt that the Chitsingpura carnage was the handiwork of militants. Says he, "Officially, our position is that the Lashkar-e-Toiba was involved but the way it was done and the timing raises doubts. Who was going to benefit out of those killings when Clinton was on an official tour?" Many other officials also rubbish the claim made by the police and intelligence agencies that it was a Lashkar operation. They say the entire confession extracted from Mohammad Sohail Malik, a Pakistani national arrested in Aligarh, was a fraud. Malik has reportedly confessed his involvement in three actions, including the Chitsinghpura killings.

Says a top bureaucrat, "The fake Aligarh Muslim University identity card and other documents allegedly recovered from Malik may be forged. I think Malik's statement is untrue. The Brakpora firing and Pathribal encounter were clear cases of unnecessary killings. The latter incident was crude attempt to show that we've solved the massacre."

As for Farooq—who's had a love-hate relationship with the security forces in the past as well—the focus on the excesses of the forces seems to be an attempt to prove his government's concern for the people.