The guns were never silent

By Shujaat Bukhari

The killings in Kashmir never stopped. Over 800 people died in the cause of a free and fair election.

And those who are on the frontline say that while militant activity, in the form of major attacks, showed a decline in Kashmir - until the strike in Nadimarg - after Mufti Mohammed Sayeed took over as Chief Minister in November last, it did not mean that the militant set-up was disturbed in any way.

As the security officials put it, the militants were waiting and watching how the situation in the Valley developed after the new Government assumed power.

But elsewhere in the State, particularly the Jammu region, major attacks continued to take place. Even in Kashmir, targeted killings of individuals never stopped - the daily toll in ones and twos kept the death count mounting. But there was a fall in spectacular fidayeen (suicide) attacks.

The figures of fatalities in militancy-related incidents in the five months beginning November 2, 2002, seem to bolster this view of a continued high level of attrition.

The number of deaths was about 850, which included 263 civilians, 130 security and police personnel and 450 militants. And among the killed were Abdul Aziz Mir, the first member of the newly-elected Legislative Assembly from Pampore, and the former chief commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Abdul Majid Dar. What is noticeable and commented on is the rise in militant activity in the rural areas and in the number of foreigners involved.

Official sources confirm that in the Kashmir Valley alone, there are as many as 4,000 militants, as infiltration from across the border never stopped. Not even during the unprecedented troops mobilisation along the International Border with Pakistan, after the December 13 Parliament attack. And as always, the number will go up in summer as the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. N. C. Vij, confirmed in Srinagar recently: “It will increase after the passes open.” 

Source: The Hindu   

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