Extension of
Disturbed Areas Act-II
Sir,
The Govt has
declared the whole of J&K State except Ladakh
Division as a ''disturbed area'' under the
disturbed area act. This act gives special powers
to armed forces such as to search premises,
arrest and even shoot anyone without seeking the
approval of the magistrates.
We know that this
high rhetoric disturbed area act was enforced in
all the six districts of Kashmir valley way back
in 1990, in the last century. What was the
outcome? Neither was the militancy crushed nor
any peace even symbolically established. If we
look at the graph of terrorism we can see that
militancy has touched the alarming heights. There
have been more than fifty massacres. Thousands of
innocent people were killed. Soil is not
irrigated by water but by the blood of innocents.
There are thousands of heart-rendering stories to
narrate. Property worth crores of rupees was
destroyed. Lacks of pro-Indian and peaceful
citizens were hounded out of valley. The area of
terrorism has increased. First it was Kashmir
valley in 1990. Then it travelled from Valley to
Doda to Poonch and to Rajouri. Now it has
engulfed Jammu, Udhampur and Kathua. Infiltration
and ex-filtration has increased manifold.
Militants were in the possession of AK-47 and
grenades in 1990. Now they use deadly landmines.
Today they are in possession of rocket launchers,
grenade launchers, Anti-aircraft guns and other
sophisticated weapons. They have modernized their
communication network. Suicidal squads have given
a dangerous turn to the ongoing militancy. Now it
is learnt that Pakistan is giving training to
women squads to strengthen the militant
organizations. This all happened after declaring
Kashmir valley as Disturbed area in 1990.
Keeping in view
the above facts I fail to understand that by
extending the Disturbed Area Act to Jammu
province how can militancy be crushed? What has
not succeeded in Valley won't show miracles in
Jammu. Inhuman Suicidal squads have time and
again delivered a gory message that they can
strike at any place, at any time, whether it is a
high security Badami Bagh Cantonment or a Railway
Station, the red fort or an air port, North Block
or A Dhok of Luddar 'Atholi. So declaring Jammu
province a disturbed area does not carry any
meaning. We have to do the proper diagnosis and
take stern, concrete, meaningful and corrective
measures to crush militancy forever. One such
step in this direction is to punish the foreign
militants who have been lodged in various so
called jals of India.
Again we know that
Pakistan is the place wherefrom the seeds of
terrorism germinate because weaponry and
terrorists are coming from across the border and
not growing within. So we should teach Pakistan a
lesson, that too, very soon.
Yours etc....
Lenin K Bhat
New Colony Garhi Udhampur.
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