There is an urgent need to deal with the radicalisations of J&K youth and Pakistan’s nefarious interference with grit and determination
Khalid Jehangir
The growing unrest in Kashmir and the trend of youth being radicalised has once again brought the ugly face of Pakistan to the fore. The neighbouring country, after losing the proxy war, which it launched in 1990 by promoting terrorism in Kashmir, is finding it hard to digest the defeat. Pakistan seems to have forgotten that it lost three conventional wars and the terrorists sent by Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir have been dealt with effectively from time to time.
Pakistan for the past few years has been trying to radicalise the Kashmiri youth and has been encouraging them to pick up guns and throw stones.
Recently the security agencies claimed that there are 300 terrorists active in Kashmir and operations are on to eliminate them. These terrorists carrying handful of guns have been busy terrorising the family members of the local policemen by barging into their houses.
Whenever any of the local
terrorists is killed, his funeral provides a chance to terrorists elements to glorify his death and misguide the youth are present at the funerals.
Besides glorifying these funerals these elements, who get paid by their masters sitting in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), are instigating people to assemble near the encounter sites and resort to stone pelting. By doing so they provide a chance to terrorists to escape. Security forces have been exercising restraint but they have paid a very heavy price for exercising restrain. During the past few months more than 25 soldiers have been martyred in Kashmir in different attacks and encounters with the terrorists.
These casualties could have been avoided had the people and supporters of the terrorists not disrupted the search operations. The new trend about people hitting the streets whenever forces launch search operations to corner the terrorists is proving detrimental for the security forces.
Army top brass and other security agencies have taken a strong note of the casualties and the damage caused by the terrorists following which Army Chief, Bipin Rawat, issued an advisory asking people to stay away from encounter sites.
Soon after Army Chief’s statement the Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dr S P Vaid made it clear that “bullet knows no address” and people should not go near the encounter sites. It was a clear warning just a few days before the by-polls for the Srinagar parliamentary were scheduled to be held. On the polling day when the miscreants tried to attack the polling booths, the security forces decided to act and teach them a lesson. No doubt eight persons were killed on that day but the fact of the matter is that they were killed for instigating violence and for attacking the polling stations. People who are trying to burn Kashmir and are
advocating the cause of Pakistan need to be taught a lesson. ‘Patience and restraint’ is no answer. The ones who don’t understand the plain language have to be taught in a language which they understand. Bullet for bullet.
(The writer is a BJP spokesman in J&K and a Fellow at International Peace Studies)
