Date:11/05/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/05/11/stories/2003051100811000.htm

National

Operation on hills worries commoners

By Luv Puri

Rajouri May 10. People living in the remote hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir border districts are living in constant fear. They have to put up with militants who seek shelter at night and with security forces which grill them during the day to know the whereabouts of the militants. The problem has increased with the security forces recently launching an operation to clear militants from hills.

Militants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are on the run in areas such as Dharhal, Thanna Mandi, Barote and Dera Wali Gali in the wake of the recent army operations. They forcibly enter and stay in the isolated houses made of grass and mud (dhoks).

Mohammad Bashir's house at Panhad village is the only symbol of human life over a vast area. He lives with his wife, Sahiba Bi, and two daughters on one side of a hill. A barber by profession, he treks 9 km everyday to the nearest town for livelihood. The nearest army post is 7 km from his house, a four-hour walk. He says, "We are caught in a death trap. This is not the way to live. Living here is a torture. We are afraid of nights. Militants forcibly enter my dhok and ask for food. We have to relent as there is no security for us at nights. Any refusal means instant death. In winter they take away our blankets."

But this is only the beginning of the travails. The next very morning, on the basis of information from their intelligence network, the security forces would arrive at the house where militants halted the previous night and enquire about the whereabouts of the militants. The questioning sometimes leads to torture. The questions are: How many were of them (militants) there? Why did they come here? Since when you know them? Where have they gone?

The people in general do not have an answer and they pay for it. They want an end to all this.

Shamima Akhtar, an old woman, says, "Everyday militants come and stay with us. We feed them. But, what is the alternative. If we do not obey their orders the penalty would be death." Asal Mohammad, a sarpanch, says, "Militants are coming down from hills and it is hard to distinguish them from the ordinary people."

The situation in the interior belt of the border districts has worried the local population and the official machinery as well. The 16 Corps Commander, T.P.S. Brar, the official heading all the army positions south of Pir Panjal, says, "The situation is alarming.