Union Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement that the central government can consider withdrawing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir will undoubtedly be received with relief across the erstwhile state.
At the same time, it reflects enough confidence of the government about the normalcy there. This will be yet another, and also a very important step towards the restoration of complete normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.
While such confidence is the need of the hour, this confidence must be matched with caution, not with any complacency. But the current regime is not known for any complacency, more so when it comes to the country's security.
The statement has come at a time when the country is in the midst of the General Elections.
These elections will be followed up with the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which have to be held before September this year. It will indeed be a major milestone towards confidence building among the people of Jammu and Kashmir as the continued imposition of the AFSPA does provide a feeling of insecurity and discomfort among people.
The AFSPA gives sweeping powers to the armed forces to ensure law and order.
They can go for a cordon and search and arrest. Those ordering such action, and in case of any untoward incident, cannot be prosecuted without the approval of the government of India.
This Act provides legal protection to the armed forces, which are fighting insurgency against all odds and in hostile situations and circumstances.
After the repealing of Article 370, under the current situation, withdrawing the AFSPA will show and reveal the confidence of the government and also its goodwill towards the people of the union territory that it does not want to keep them under any stringent laws for too long. The AFSPA was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir way back in September 1990.
It goes without saying that the situation in Kashmir Valley has seen a sea change since the abrogation of Article 370 as a lot of misconceptions, illusions and delusions have been removed.
Besides, the communication and connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the country has improved a lot. Once the train link is completely established, there will be complete physical integration of the valley with the rest of the country.
So far, it has remained largely isolated.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists are visiting the Kashmir valley every year and the flow is increasing.
Once the rail link gets functional, which is just a matter of a few months more, there will be much more tourist flow to the valley that will further break its isolation from the mainland. This will also lead to added confidence among the people.
Tourists, once they return to the mainland, have nice stories to tell about Kashmir. And Kashmiris returning from the mainland have similar experiences to share back home.
That makes common Kashmiri resistant to any extremist ideology, not to speak of militancy. The AFSPA was necessitated when the armed forces had to face hostile environs, as the insurgents would get a lot of local support and they could easily mix and hide behind the public.
With that support dwindling substantially, the armed forces do not face any local resistance or hostility.
Also, over the years, the local police, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have become quite active and very aggressive against the militants.
It reminds one of the Punjab militancy, which was eliminated by the Punjab Police only. In the process, like the Punjab Police, the Jammu and Kashmir Police has also lost precious lives of its personnel. But the spirit remains high.
The timing of the announcement by the Home Minister is also important.
The political parties in Jammu and Kashmir like the Congress, the BJP, the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party, the Democratic Azad Party, the People’s Conference and the Apni Party will obviously welcome the announcement.
At the same time, some of them will be denied an important election issue as the AFSPA issue was extensively exploited by some political parties during the elections.
Last, but not least, the confidence apart, the government will need to remain very cautious as sporadic incidents of militancy are still taking place, some at large scale causing considerable loss of life.
In the last six months, there have been a few deadly attacks on the army leading to the loss of precious lives in Rajouri and Poonch areas. Last year there was a militant attack on a village where people were shot dead inside their houses.
The government obviously must be seized of the situation and must have factored in all these aspects before going ahead with this announcement.
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