Security forces to turn the heat on militants

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, JUNE 12 As many as 92 militants have been gunned down by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir in this month so far in what is seen as part of a `go after them' strategy. The idea behind this pro-active approach, that came into play with the formal termination of the ceasefire, is that the security forces should be able to retrieve as much lost ground as possible before Gen. Musharraf visits New Delhi. When he comes here, the Pakistani ruler should be under no illusion about the Indian security forces' capacity to contain, and if necessary, take care of the jehadi and other militant outfits.

However, the security forces have also been cautioned that the militants would want to provoke them needlessly. Accordingly the forces have been advised to observe maximum restraint, and avoid, to the extent possible, any injury to civilians or any embarrassing violation of human rights.

A particular dilemma has presented itself to the security forces as the militants appear to have decided to use mosques for carrying on their activities. The militants' calculation is that once the security forces engage them, there is bound to be some damage to the mosque. Such damage, if any, can be used to excite religious sentiments.

For instance, militants belonging to the Lashkar-e- Taiba had sneaked into a mosque in Anantnag district. The easiest and no- casualty option for the security forces was to decimate the religious structure; but this option was firmly ruled out. Finally, the commandos had to storm the mosque, incurring an avoidable loss of life among the security forces.

The Unified Command headquarters has already warned the militants that they would not be allowed to misuse the mosques to attack the security forces. The onus has been put on the militants and their patrons that they must respect the sanctity of a place of worship.

The calculation is that the people of Kashmir have seen through this game. The various Hurriyat leaders did not find much public support. Even Syed Ali Shah Geelani, of the Jamat-e-Islami, could attract a crowd of only 200 people when he visited Charar-e- Sharief. What has been noted is that the state administration firmly turned down the demand that the local SHO, Mr. Imtiaz Dar, be shifted out. The message to the Jammu and Kashmir police is that the militants have to be stood down.

This tough and no-nonsense approach to the militants has already restored the security forces' morale, according to senior officials. As part of a larger peace strategy, the idea is to demonstrate a capacity to protect India's security interests and to disabuse the Pakistani establishment that there was no battle- fatigue. In other words, peace and diplomacy would not be conducted from positions of weakness.

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