Major troops pullout from J&K

As it moves to stoke a dialogue with separatists in Kashmir and restrict army presence to “essentials” in J&K, the Centre has decided to “withdraw a significant number of battalions” from the state and gradually transfer the law and order to the state police. Home minister P Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha that there was an element of “risk” attached to the move to reduce army footprint in J&K. But he maintained that there was no let-up in vigil on infiltration. The minister seemed buoyed by reduced incidence of violence in the state, which has been lowest in 2009, and the Centre seems prepared to gamble on the J&K police increasingly handling the law and order operations. The decision is bound to result in mixed reactions as army encampments are often the best bet for a “quasi-normal” life for many in Kashmir. The withdrawal is likely to be carefully monitored with the thinning initially carried out in urban areas as the rural population is much more vulnerable to jihadi groups. Though BJP MPs like Rama Jois demanded a law like Maintenance of Internal Security Act during the discussion, Chidambaram banked on peace. Giving an account of the situation in the state, the home minister said there was neither violence during Eid, nor any incident of stone throwing during Friday prayers. He said 3.9 lakh pilgrims went to Amarnath and 10,000 Sikhs came out on the streets to celebrate Guruparab. Earlier, he had supported the government’s attempt to pursue “quiet talks” with various Kashmiri groups. He said the government would not shy away from talking to any organisation—even those which are demanding the right to self determination or self rule. The minister said the government was willing to talk to “every shade of political opinion” in J&K. “These will be quiet talks, quiet diplomacy...far away from the glare of media”, Chidambaram said. Stating “zero tolerance” for both “jihadi and Hindu militancy”, Chidambaram said a big terror incident since 26/11 had been avoided due to the revamped intelligence set-up. Though Chidambaram’s reference to “Hindu militancy” was met with resistance by BJP members Prakash Javdeka and S S Ahluwalia who alleged he should not bring religion to the terror issue, the home minister refused to yield.