NEW DELHI, 28 March 2007 — Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defense Minister A.K. Antony having categorically rejected the People Democratic Party’s (PDP) demand for troop reduction in Jammu and Kashmir, there are reports that government is likely to buckle to the demand from the PDP, a junior partner in the Congress party-led Kashmir government.
The decision apparently follows the meeting between United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and PDP leader Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. A committee is reportedly being formed to look into the issue.
The proposal would be to move the army out from orchards, government schools and hospitals. J&K authorities are likely to replace the army in areas where militancy has been low over the past five years, sources said.
There is also a view that the committee-formation tactic may be the government’s strategy of buying time to maintain the coalition government in the border state.
Analysts have labeled this as “face-saving” formula offered to keep Sayeed satisfied that at least his party’s demands are being seriously considered.
Claiming that the troop withdrawal is already being allegedly affected in Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh yesterday accused the UPA government of “compromising national security to hang on to power in the state.”
Accusing the government of having indulged in this exercise over the past three months, he said: “Troops were gradually withdrawn from Doda, Poonch and Rajouri sectors in the past three months. Now, even the army has admitted it. Such a decision should have been taken in consultation with all political parties, including the opposition,” the BJP leader said while addressing a news conference in Raipur in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
Though the army has denied any such pullout, the BJP claims that its own investigators indicated that military pickets have been removed from 23 villages of three sensitive districts of Poonch, Rajouri and Doda. The BJP blames the center of buckling under pressure of the PDP.
The PDP has, however, started exercising pressure on the center for gradual troops’ withdrawal from civilian areas only recently.
The PDP even threatened to pull out of the Congress-led coalition government in Kashmir if its demand was not considered. Manmohan discussed this issue with Sayeed last week (March 22).
In an effort to keep the coalition government in office, Sonia met Sayeed Monday and assured him that her party would make all effort possible to ensure smooth running of the state coalition. Among others who attended the meeting were Defense Minister Antony and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel.
Latest developments indicate that an eight-member committee headed by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan will be formed to look into troop reduction and redeployment in Kashmir.
The committee is expected to have members from both the parties, who are not ministers, to ensure smooth functioning of the Kashmir coalition.
The committee will be in place after Sonia has discussions with Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and other Congress leaders. Once formed, the committee will keep Sonia updated directly on the developments from time to time.
