NEW DELHI/ SRINAGAR, 2 April — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah yesterday urged the central government to take a cue from Israel and strike at places from where terror was being directed at this country.
Speaking in the legislative assembly yesterday, an angry Farooq said the government had done tremendous damage by shifting elite counter-insurgency units of the security forces to the borders, an action that had resulted in a spurt of violence in the state. “Look at Israel, did it bother about the United Nations resolutions or America?” he asked. The chief minister made the remarks after the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, agitated over Saturday’s attack on a temple, accused his government of failing to protect the Hindus and their temples. He said the shifting of the counter-insurgency forces to the Pakistani border as part of the Indian troop mobilization had encouraged activists to step up their activities in the state.
He wondered what the troops were doing on the borders “if they were not to go to war. This reflects our weakness that we cannot go to war or we lack the courage to take such a decisive step”. He promised to enhance security at all the religious places in the state, but said: “Terrorist strikes cannot not be prevented altogether as terrorists make their own choice of timing. They also have the initiative with them.” A shutdown yesterday to protest Saturday’s attack, disrupted normal life in Jammu.
The central government yesterday banned two militant organizations Al-Badr and Jamait-ul-Mujahedeen fighting its rule in Kashmir, its first major action using a tough new law aimed at providing teeth to law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, police have detained a separatist leader in Kashmir after another weekend marked by deadly clashes between activists and the military. Javid Mir, acting chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was arrested by police near Abi Guzar area of Srinagar, witnesses said.
Sena leader attacks Lone
Top Kashmiri leader Abdul Gani Lone was physically attacked by a right-wing Hindu leader yesterday as he was talking to reporters in Jammu. Lone was being interviewed in the lobby of a Jammu hotel when he was repeatedly slapped and pushed by the Kashmir president of the right-wing Shiv Sena party, Kalki Jimaharaj.
“You are anti-Indian. Your people are responsible for killing Hindus in Jammu,” Jimaharaj shouted as he struck Lone several times despite the presence of armed police.
Lone, an executive member of Kashmir’s main separatist alliance — the All Party Hurriyat Conference — was in Jammu to highlight the plight of fellow Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik, who was arrested last week. Lone responded to Jimaharaj’s attack by saying groups like the Shiv Sena were responsible for blocking peace moves in Kashmir.
