Militant incursions are a blow to peace in Kashmir

SRINAGAR - Just as Kashmiris saw the most peaceful year in over 20 years of separatist war in their state in 2009, armed militants are slowly but surely sneaking in from Pakistan controlled territory once again resulting in a fresh bout of violence.

According to official data, over 60 incursion attempts have been foiled in Jammu and Kashmir since the beginning of this year. There have been some 35 gunfights and over 40 other militancy-related incidents in the same period during which more than 40 militants were killed by security forces.

An intelligence officer, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, told IANS: \”It has usually been seen that out of every group of 10 infiltrating militants who are challenged by the security forces at the borders, while eight are killed, on an average, two still manage to sneak in.\”

In a gunfight between the army and guerrillas in the Keran sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir, eight militants were killed recently. At the end of the three-day firefight, the army released video footage, reportedly taken by one of the militants, that showed that the infiltrating group comprised 24 guerrillas.

\”The army did not confirm if the remaining 16 militants had been pushed back. Does this mean that while eight militants were killed, 16 managed to enter?\” asked Fayaz Ahmad, 37, a teacher.

The intelligence officer said: \”The number of infiltration attempts and the intelligence inputs received by us indicate that groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen are coordinating their attempts to push in more militants into the state in 2010 than they did during the last three years.\”

Recently, separatist guerrillas blew up a part of the Qazigund-Baramulla rail link in south Kashmir. The rail link has brought a major change in the lives of people as it has not only provided residents of Kashmir with the cheapest mode of local transport but has also generated permanent employment for the local population.

Last year was said to be the most peaceful in the over 20-year-old separatist war that began in 1989. Violent incidents in 2009 declined by a third as compared to 2008. Civilian deaths — nearly 80 in 2009 — were 15 percent less than those in the previous year.

The threat of more violence in 2010 assumes a serious dimension because the back channel diplomacy and so-called quiet dialogue between New Delhi and separatist leaders may be floundering.

\”There is no quiet diplomacy or back channel dialogue going on between us and the Indian government for the last two months,\” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group, told IANS.

The separatist politicians continue to remain entrenched in their so-called hardline and moderate groups headed respectively by Syed Ali Geelani and the Mirwaiz. Despite the periodic chorus of the two groups trying to hammer out their differences to forge a common separatist platform, both these groups remain as estranged today as they had been when Hurriyat conference was split into two in 2003.

But common Kashmiris are hoping violence will not escalate in the valley.

Zahoor Ahmad, a taxi driver, said: \”I have been making a respectable living for the last one month ferrying tourists to Srinagar\’s Mughal gardens, Gulmarg and Pahalgam in my taxi.

\”I pray the situation remains peaceful so that I can repay the huge loan I had to take from a bank to buy my Innova vehicle,\” said 25-year-old Ahmad.

Haji Muhammad Sidiq, 59, a resident of north Kashmir\’s Ganderbal district, has experienced the agony of Kashmiris first hand — his eldest son was killed after he joined the guerrilla ranks in 1999.

He asked: \”Violence does not solve problems, but it definitely results in death and destruction. Well, if that is what lies in store for us, how can we change our destiny?\”

(F. Ahmed can be contacted at