In biggest outreach yet, Malik calls upon militants to return

Sahil Rasgotra. Updated: 1/15/2019 11:27:08 AM Front Page

JAMMU: Sounding even sweeter than the popular government selected on the plank of human right protection, Governor Satya Pal Malik today called upon the militants to return to the civil mainstream as he assured their counseling and rehabilitation.

"We do not have any 'operation all out'. We want these children (militants) to come back and we are ready to do what we can do for them," Malik said some 300 km away from the restive Kashmir Valley.

The significance of Malik’s comments on Monday assume greater significance when one traces the policies adopted by the current Central and successive State governments in Jammu and Kashmir in the past.

While ‘no mercy for militants’ as reflected in Operation All Out has essentially been a policy of BJP, ever since it came to power in Centre in 2014, the successive governments in Jammu and Kashmir have always remained in conflict, pitching for dialogue, instead of killings.

The status quo remained even when BJP formed a government in Jammu and Kashmir, sharing the power with PDP in 2015, but not for long.

While Centre’s muscular approach against militancy in Kashmir saw Hizbul Commander Burhan Wani getting killed in July 2016 when the term ‘Operation All Out’ was yet to be coined, the Valley was pushed into a period of unrest—unprecedented in recent history of Kashmir.

Only a month later, then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti probably changed the narrative altogether, the implications of which are visible even today.

Addressing a press conference at the peak of post-Burhan Wani unrest in August 2016, Mehbooba sat along with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and said: “Had they (youth killed in agitation) gone to camps and police stations to buy toffees and milk”.

Her statement changed a lot of things, not to mention igniting the already-volatile situation that ultimately claimed over 100 civilian lives in Valley.

What Mehbooba did on that fateful day was further sanctifying the harsh security measures, which however, failed to make any big impact, as the militant recruitments only increased since then.

There were efforts to make for the lost ground, as Centre backtracked from viewing stone-pelting by Kashmiris as “agitational terrorism” to “Gandhian form of protest” when it announced amnesty for over ten thousand such youth, before coming back to former view, later.

However, as the PDP-BJP government fell in June last year, the sides switched again. While Security forces intensified their “catch and kill” operations against militants, Mehbooba started batting again for dialogue instead of killing militants, getting back to square zero when she apologized for her “Tofee and Milk” comments, earlier this month.

Coming back to the significance of Malik’s comments, whenever a boy announces joining militant ranks, that itself becomes a cognizable offence in eye of law for waging war against the state, notwithstanding if he has killed someone or not.

In the background of these developments, Malik’s call to militants asking them to shun the path of violence, and assuring that his administration was ready to do whatever it can for their rehabilitation, is probably the biggest outreach he could have made.

Governor was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of inaugural function of a musical fountain and an open-air gymnasium constructed by the Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Rajinder Singh Park in Jammu.

On National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah's statement that if his party is elected to power in the upcoming assembly polls, it would establish a truth and reconciliation commission to probe killings in the state, Malik said he is stating something new every day.

"He is a senior politician so commenting on him is not good," the governor added.

Malik said mainstream politicians have political compulsions and "in our country one can go to any extent for a vote".

"They are all political people and have political compulsions. For a vote, the people go too far in this country. I understand the compulsions of everybody and honour them," he said when asked about statements made by some politicians recently.

Earlier, Malik said, "We are being demonized across the country that everything here is wrong. But I can say with authority that Jammu and Kashmir is far ahead with many of the states in the country and the J-K Bank is one such institution which is doing good."

He suggested the bank to concentrate on providing easy loans to artisans and workers and said it has the ability to uplift the weaker sections of society.

Paying rich tributes to Brigadier Rajinder Singh, Governor lauded the Bank for developing and maintaining the Park in the name of a valiant soldier of the nation.

He added that the J&K Bank under the leadership of Parvez Ahmed has always demonstrated a very strong delivery in all the projects of socio economic importance and he is confident that the Bank will also develop innovative solution for this sector on the lines of Self Help Groups.

Ahmed, Chairman JK Bank in his address acknowledged the continuous guidance and support of the Governor’s administration to the Bank. He informed that the Bank has been consistently showing profit and in the recently declared nine months results it has reported a profit of Rs 250 Cr. He assured that the Bank is in a very strong position to project a profit of Rs 2000 Cr in the year 2022 i.e three years from now.

Ahmed re-iterated his commitment towards the economic upliftment of the economically weaker section of the society especially in the rural and agrarian pockets of the state by opening business units in the unbanked rural areas and for development of the handicrafts sector and improve the economic profile of the artisans.


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