The Centre and the J&K Government must realise that mere military force is not going to resolve the Kashmir problem. A political solution involving all legitimate stake-holders has to be worked out to arrive at a durable solution

The situation in Kashmir is getting worse by the day, with unguided and frustrated youths taking to the streets and pelting stones at the Armed Forces, which are using force to quell the dissent. Due to continued hostility, since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani last July by security forces, militants and the youth have started targetting  police and security forces. The situation, as some Kashmir experts feel, is worse than what it was in 1990s, when militancy in the valley was at its height.

Almost three generations of Kashmiris have now seen militancy and most of their children have missed their childhood, growing up in a state of fear and frustration. This why the Burhan Wanis have sprung up. Today, the youth are proud to be stone-pelters and are also ready to die. Even women and school-going children are out on the streets, protesting.

Why is this the state of affairsIJ  First, the Peoples Democratic Party- Bharatiya Janata Party (PDP-BJP) coalition Government has not yet settled down, though it is almost two-and-a-half-years since it came to power. As the former Research and Analysis Wing chief, AS Dulat, said, in a recent interview, “What’s happening now is different (from 1990). It springs from the 2014 election. That election actually didn’t satisfy anybody. The BJP was looking at ‘mission 44’; it got 25 seats. The PDP was dreaming of 45 seats, but won 28 seats. Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had no option but to tie up with the BJP.” And the alliance has just not worked.

Despite all her good intentions, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has not been able to deliver so far. She has too many problems within her party and outside. The first is to keep her party united and the second is to make sure that that the BJP-PDP combination works at the ground level. This has not happened because of the inherent contradictions between the two partners and their ideologies.

The Centre as well as the State failed to deal with the consequences of the killing of Burhan Wani on July 7 last year and the discontent is still simmering, with many more Burhan Wanis springing up. They failed to engage the frustrated youth. The result is that Pakistan is making use of the situation.

One was hoping that during the winter, the situation would have improved due to the heavy snow in the valley, but the militant activities had only increased. What should be worrying is that the local militants are growing in number and are willing to take on the security forces. The second is the level of mass interference during the security operations against the militants.  Because of these, the task of the security forces is more difficult as they cannot shoot unarmed people indiscriminately. The result is the confrontation between the youth and the security forces. As separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani notes, “Despite (the Government) utilising all its resources and military might during the last 70 years, the issue is there and not an iota of change seems (to have happened) on the ground.” He is daring the BJP to hold a referendum.

So what is the solutionIJ The future looks bleak unless there is some out-of-the-box  thinking. As the Northern Army Commander, lieutenant General DS Hooda, had  pointed out recently, if the people are not on the side of the Government, nothing  can be done. He merely echoed what Sardar  Vallabhbhai Patel said in 1948: “Some people consider that a Muslim majority area must necessarily belong to Pakistan. They wonder why we are in Kashmir. The answer is plain and simple. We are in Kashmir because the people of Kashmir want us to be there.” 

 Second, there is a fundamental difference in their approach for a solution. While Mehbooba Mufti feels that dialogue is the only way out, the BJP wants a muscular policy and believes that the violence is only due to Pakistan, its Inter-Services Intelligence, and so repression should be intensified. The Centre is not willing to resume dialogue with Pakistan until Pakistan stops militant activities there. 

Ultimately, the solution has to be political. As National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said, “Kashmir is a political issue and needs to be resolved on first priority so that people in the State can live in peace. As long as its resolution is delayed, the situation is bound to deteriorate further instead of getting back on track.” The two major stake-holders — the Congress and the National Conference — are busy faulting the Centre and the State Government.

 It is true that it is not easy to find a solution in a day, but the Government should explore available options. The path ahead is not bright. There are many expert committee reports on Kashmir, which need to be dusted and implemented. Back-channel negotiations with Pakistan should also be resumed. There should be efforts to involve all stake-holders and political parties. Before all these confidence building measures need to be taken up to assuage the feelings of the Kashmiris. The Centre seems to think that brutal force of the security forces is the solution, whereas the problem lies elsewhere.

Kashmir is crying for a political solution. It is imperative that the Centre and the State Government ensure, at the very least, that there is no escalation of violence. Mehbooba Mufti needs the Centre’s unstinted support if she has to succeed and adopt a healing touch to the Kashmiris.

(The writer is a senior political commentator and syndicated columnist)