Date:- 17 May 2018
New Delhi: The Modi government took a political and security gamble on Wednesday with a Ramzan peace initiative in Jammu & Kashmir, asking security forces not to launch anti-terror operations in this period, in an effort to break the cycle of violence and facilitate fasting in a peaceful environment.
The "people-centric" decision comes with the important caveat that the armed forces will have the right to retaliate if challenged by terrorists or if such action is essential to protect lives of innocent people. They will also not hold back if a tip-off on the presence of a terrorist at a location is confirmed.
Senior ministry officials said calling the initiative a "ceasefire" was inaccurate, saying that such a term would indicate agreement between two parties while the Ramzan move is a unilateral "suspension of operations".
These would include cor-don-and-search operations that have seen nearly 270 terrorists being killed in 2017 and2018, and have lately become a trigger for local stone-pelting protests.
TOI had reported on May 11 that the central security establishment felt that the peace move suggested by an all-party meeting in J&K led by chief minister MehboobaMufti could be doable under certain conditions.
On Wednesday, official sources argued that suspension of proactive anti-terror operations would not be a concession to terrorists and their overground supporters and separatist leaders.
Courtesy: Times Of India, 17, May, 2018.