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Slaughter Of The Innocents

Advani's hot pursuit strategy may be stepped up after the Doda massacre

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Slaughter Of The Innocents
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The message is clear. The brutal massacre of over two dozen Hindus at Chapnari village in Doda district on June 19 by Pakistan-backed militants is an unambiguous indication that Islamabad wants to keep the Kashmir issue on the boil and that militant activity has moved out of the Valley to the Jammu region. The killing comes at a time when tempers are on the rise on both sides of the border and many RSS and BJP leaders have been recommending military action against Pakistan to put an end to the proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. According to home ministry sources, L.K. Advani's "hot pursuit" strategy is likely to be put into a gear now.

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In the last six months there have been three major attacks on Hindus, with the combined death toll at 55. This has bolstered the case of the hawks, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah included, who have been advocating severe military action. After the latest round of killings, when militants fired on a marriage party outside Doda town, the mood in the state and in New Delhi is a volatile mix of outrage and belligerence. Senior BJP leaders told Outlook that the time had come for implementing on the ground the Advani-articulated "pro-active" strategy in dealing with militancy in Kashmir. In fact, in his immediate reaction to the killings Advani pointed out that his tough approach to fighting militancy stood vindicated.

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Sources in the Union home ministry are equally clear that there can be no scrimping on pumping in "men and resources" into Kashmir if the state government deems it necessary. The Farooq Abdullah government has been vocal on stepping up army presence in the state and the chief minister has predicted a full-scale war with Pakistan.

In fact, state chief secretary Ashok Jaitley told Outlook there is a commonality between the state and Central governments' approach on the pro-active and "most effective" way of dealing with the militants' strategy of going for soft targets such as the minority community and workers of mainstream political parties—"go after them". According to him, the state government will be requisitioning additional troops to fight militancy. "The militants cannot be allowed to come into the country, commit these massacres and then run back into the mountains," declared Jaitley. "We have to go after them rather than wait for them to come and attack us. That is why we are asking the Centre to provide us with more resources and increase rather than decrease the presence of security forces in the Valley." However, when asked whether this would mean a policy of hot pursuit involving Indian troops crossing the border, he would only say, "the pickets on the border are located in such a manner—with both forces facing each other—that this usually doesn't happen."

The latest militant strike was typical of the kind the state has been witnessing in the last two years. The targeted group had stopped at Champnari village for tea when they were accosted by five militants armed with sophisticated weapons. The hapless victims were divided into two groups on the basis of gender. The men were lined up and indiscriminately shot at. This was pretty much the same modus operandi employed by the militants in earlier killings.

While military action is being projected as the only solution for the problem by the state government, Abdullah has come in for much criticism from Opposition parties for ignoring the militant threat in the Jammu region. Their argument is that the National Conference government had fully concentrated troops in the Valley ignoring other regions of the state. Says C.L. Gadoo, president of the Kashmiri Samiti, a group that voices the interests of Kashmiri Pandits: "It seems the state government is playing around with the lives of the minority Hindus. The incident clearly proves that the state government's repeated claims about return of normalcy is a hoax."

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Tension prevailed in Jammu the day after the massacre. The BJP called for a bandh on June 20. Shops and business establishments remained closed in Jammu and other towns in the region. The army and paramilitary forces are on red alert since further strikes by militants cannot be ruled out. Fear has gripped Jammu town much in the same manner as had happened in Srinagar at the height of the militant threat.

According to sources in the army, the shift of militancy from the Valley to the Jammu and Doda regions is a result of effective army action in the Valley. Most entry points used by militants from across the border have been sealed. However, the border in the Rajouri and Poonch sector is still porous. According to military intelligence the entry points for the militants are Noweshera, Lam, Sunderbani and Peer Badesar. Once the border is crossed the mountainous terrain provides a favourable cover for the militants to carry out their operations. The inaccessibility of places like Doda has also worked to the advantage of the militants.

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Militants have been operating in this sector since 1993. But with the pressure being stepped up in the Valley, militancy has seen an upward climb in Doda, Poonch and Rajouri in the last one year. The strategy employed by the militants is similar to the one in use in the Valley in recent times: select soft targets, attack and then retreat into the mountains.

The July 19 strike is the second massacre this year in the Jammu-Doda region. On April 17, militants killed 26 persons at Prankote in Udhampur district. Following this army and paramilitary presence in the region had been stepped up. But it is a difficult area to police. Doda alone is spread over 12,000 sq km of unfriendly hilly terrain.

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THOUGH the latest killings are being attributed to Hizbul Mujahideen by the J&K police chief Gurubachan Singh, there are also reports that foreign mercenaries may have been involved. These hired men first came on the scene in 1993 but are now chiefly responsible for keeping militancy alive in the state since most of the local groups have either been disbanded or have been marginalised.

Kashmir-based militant groups have told the press in Srinagar that they were not responsible for the killings. A spokesperson for the militants pointed out that the groups do not target civilians. However, the police maintain that the Hizbul Mujahideen were involved and that they may have carried out the massacre with the help of foreign mercenaries. The local militant group is known to work in tandem with Pak-trained infiltrators.

It is to stop the inflow of these militants that Advani and Abdullah have been advocating hot pursuit. Army personnel stationed in the Valley have not been very keen on openly and blatantly crossing the borders and raiding the training camps in POK. But army officials in Delhi point out that a pro-active policy will have to be adopted. "We have to step up our presence in the Jammu region. The least which has to be done is to step up operations like we have done in the Valley," says a senior officer in army headquarters.

But a crackdown on the militants who infiltrate from across the border at this particular juncture when tension is high on both sides, he admits, could mean inching very close to a war. He adds that a direct confrontation can be avoided if operations are conducted in a severe but discreet manner.

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After the April 17 massacre Advani and Abdullah were quick to make some strong noises about severe action against the militants. The latest killings clearly indicate such warnings do not deter the militants or stop Pakistan's designs. According to a section of National Conference leaders, what is required is a reassessment of the security requirements of the Jammu region. Army and paramilitary action of the kind that helped check militancy in the Valley could help, they point out.

But more than anything else the civil administration, which is virtually non-existent in far-flung areas like Doda, needs to be resuscitated. This alone will build confidence among the people. Observes state law minister P.L. Handoo: "The military presence is most essential. But militancy can only be curbed if the people are involved in the political and administrative process. Wherever this has happened in the Valley you will see that militancy has lost its grip. Places bypassed by this process is where militancy continues to flourish."

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Perhaps severe policing by the army and more effective administering of the Jammu region is what is immediately called for. Army officers say whatever action is taken, it has to be done with sensitivity. The recent targeting of Hindus by the militants has given a communal colour to the Kashmir issue and could well create a dangerous divide between Hindus and Muslims.

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