Shopian blockade

Against all good sense and advice from seasoned hands in counter-insurgency operations, New Delhi has chosen to mount yet another massive anti-terror offensive in Indian-held Kashmir’s Shopian district to flush out suspected militants. This time, more than 3,000 security and police personnel have blockaded at least two dozen villages in the district and have begun a house-to-house search for suspects. The move has already sparked off deadly clashes between angry villagers and the security forces. The operation — launched in the wake of the surfacing of videos showing large groups of heavily-armed men marching in the orchards of Shopian — was oddly timed coming as it did a day after a former spymaster said in published remarks that the situation in India-held Kashmir had become scarier than it was at the peak of the armed resistance in the 1990s.

Since July 2016 when Indian forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen youth leader Burhan Wani, the vast area of Shopian has been turned into a hotbed of militancy. Try as much as it has, New Delhi cannot fault Pakistan for what has gone down since then and years before as well. Thousands of Kashmiri youths have clashed with Indian troops during military operations against suspected militants. They needed little or no goading from Islamabad.

Last month’s warning of tough action against stone throwing Kashmiris by the Indian army chief has further inflamed tensions. No wonder then that anti-India protests and clashes are continuing. Former spy chief A S Dulat has spoken of alienation and the rising anger felt by Kashmiri youth and how they are increasingly out of control. In these circumstances, Mr Dulat says it is difficult to understand why India is refusing to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan, criticising Delhi’s current stance on negotiations. His admission that it was easier to talk to Pakistan than it was to talk to Kashmiris themselves should be seriously considered.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2017.

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