The Hindu : Guns and roses

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 15, 2003

Opinion

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Guns and roses

EVERY SIGN OF peace blossoming in Jammu and Kashmir leads many to forget that all rosebushes have thorns — and that a few roses do not make a summer. The resignation of State Agriculture Minister Abdul Aziz Zargar for alleged links with terrorists came after several days of heightened violence, which seems to have ended the early summer euphoria generated by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's `Healing Touch' agenda. The killing of Kuka Parrey, the reformed former terrorist, in rural Baramullah is a further blow to the peacemakers' morale. With Islamists and centrists in the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference splitting, the Central Government's efforts to initiate a dialogue with secessionists seem bogged down. This summer's initiative, then, may well be headed the same way as its several unlamented predecessors. The real question is: why is peacemaking in Jammu and Kashmir proving so difficult? The decline in violence early this year was attributed to a popular peace consensus generated by the `Healing Touch'. The proposition is not borne out by the official data. In fact, the levels of violence before May this year were similar to the levels of last year; the escalation being witnessed follows the same pattern.

The truth is that Operation Parakram, and the consequent pressure on Pakistan's military establishment to de-escalate its jihad in Jammu and Kashmir, led to more substantial gains in terms of lives saved than Mr. Sayeed's political labours. It should be borne in mind, however, that even this gain was not particularly large. It also came at a heavy price. Pakistan's military emerged from Operation Parakram believing India had no coercive or deterrent means with which to respond to continued violence in Jammu and Kashmir. In other words, Pakistan's state-sponsored jihadis could continue singing the same tune, only at a slightly lowered pitch. And this brings up the question of Mr. Zargar: of how the political process is skewed by violence and how democratic politics might survive it.

On the face of it, Mr. Zargar committed no crime — or at least none uncommon in rural Jammu and Kashmir. An Akshardham-accused terrorist, Chand Usman Khan, said that meetings to plan the outrage were held in Mr. Zargar's village home. The truth is that the Minister left his residence in response to terrorism 12 years ago. There is no allegation that Mr. Zargar knew of either the meetings or their substance. Yet it is also true that Mr. Zargar, like much of the ruling People's Democratic Party, benefited not a little from extremist support in last year's elections. Mr. Zargar's rival from the Noorabad constituency, Sakina Itoo, was repeatedly targeted by terrorists during campaigning; Mr. Zargar was not. Terrorists through southern Kashmir told voters to support the PDP, and National Conference candidates suffered as a result. The malaise is not restricted to the PDP. Naim Khan, a Pakistani terrorist recently arrested in Poonch, told his interrogators that a local National Conference legislator had paid protection money to his organisation, the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Hurriyat `centrists' — witness the case of Abdul Gani Lone, who was assassinated — have also discovered the cost of bucking jihadi fiat. Politicians, quite naturally, have learned that it is best to make their peace with guns, not to strive for a genuine peace that excludes them. This is a consequence of the fact that policy makers see security issues as something sundered from the political process, not as an organic part of the search for peace. Unless the security establishment can find creative means to make both ordinary people and their representatives secure, it is unlikely that a meaningful move towards peace can begin.

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