From the President’s Desk Koshur Samachar 

Vijay Raina Ex-President, Kashmir Samiti, Delhi   

 

Dear community members,

Namaskar,

In the last about one month, the fight against- Pakistan sponsored terror has reached a new high. The government and people of India showed determination to join hands in prosecuting the perpetrators of the Pulwama suicide terrorist attack. The February 26 aerial strikes by Indian Air Force (IAF) on joint training camps of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen located at Balakot (in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Muzaffarabad and Chakoti, have not only damaged the terror facilities and inflicted a heavy toll on terrorists housed in them, but it has also hit hard the longstanding resolve and sense of safety of terrorist masterminds as well.

Hitherto, the ploy of nuclear blackmail by Pakistan that has been working to its advantage as a deterrent against any punitive action by India and escaping with a few diplomatic chides and verbal condemnation after every terrorist incident carried out by terrorist outfits from Pakistan or their local recruits, has undergone topsy-turvy. That has completely changed this time and as the PM Modi articulated, here on the new India will hit back hard at terror. While it is still very early to pass a judgment, but this time we have crossed the psychological barrier along with border/ Line of Control to deliver a stern message to terrorist outfits, their handlers and backers and Pakistani public at large that any misadventure and violence by their ‘good’ terrorists will hit them back in face and it is going to be a costly affair for Pakistan as a state.

While in order to assuage the fearful feeling of its people, Pakistan did carry out retaliatory strike of no consequence; at the same time it felt the international isolation as India’s diplomatic offensive made the world to see India’s view point favorably. Reeling under pressure, Pakistan has started taking some action against outlaws and militia, but the past experience will sat such exercises are just to deceive global opinion and pass these hard times.

The virus of religious extremism that has made Pakistan society sick is far too wide spread. The National Action Plan (NAP) against extremism that it launched about two years ago was selectively implemented and terrorist groups active in Jammu & Kashmir kept out of its ambit. Pakistan lied to the world on the bans of a few prominent terror organizations which are engaged in terrorist activities in our Kashmir. So, we need to keep an attentive watch on how the scenario develops in coming months.

Back home, the crackdown on over-ground support of terror in Kashmir is a welcome step and its need was being felt for a long time. The ban on Jamait-e-lslami and withdrawal of security cover to separatists in Kashmir is a good way to suffocate the militant breeding ground in Kashmir. The apologists and politicians have started talking against these measures as suppression etc. but every stakeholder in Kashmir knows fully the organizational, logistic and intoxicating of mindset roles these so-called ‘social welfare’ forces played in polluting minds of average public in the valley.

The fight against terror is also a fight to change the mindsets and definitions. The clamp down on radical groups and individuals is necessary to bring down the enormous clout that these enjoy in paralyzing the day-to-day life in the Kashmir valley.

We view the current actions both crossing the LoC and crackdown within the J & K as necessary and appropriate. As many experts have said, the pressure on them has to be consistent, tough and definitive so that the menace of Islamic extremism is brought under controllable levels. Strict vigil and proactive terror combat methods have to be strengthened. At the same time, Pakistan and its supporters are unlikely to cede any position on their ‘disputed’ claim of Kashmir, so all Kashmiris, including us, Kashmiri Pandits, must be involved in the political process to bolster national mainstreaming. Our best wishes are always with the Government, while we salute the resolute determination and bravery of our soldiers in rooting out terror from our native land. Jai Hind!

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Courtesy: March 2019, Koshur Samachar