Kashmir govt spends $200m a year protecting politicians from Jihadis
Habshi
thefridaytimes.com
The NC leaders describe the package as a bribe for Ladakh, the
security forces and the pro-India militia comprising renegade gunmen.
Of the total Rs 61.56 bn, Rs 39.86 billion will go to the construction
of a 290-km railway line from Udhampur to Baramulla. For the past six
years, the project has been inaugurated twice by two former prime
ministers. The 90-km Jammu-Udhampur rail line inaugurated by late
prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1980 is still undergoing construction.
Similarly, Rs 13.35 billion will go to the construction of the
strategically important Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh road. Another Rs 5.84
bn will be spent on the development of the border areas, the
modernisation of the police force and on counter-insurgency measures.
This leaves just Rs Rs 2.7 billion for development works. The National
Conference, which has to go back to the electorate to seek votes in
the upcoming elections, says there is no money in the kitty for them
to spend and lure the voters.
Annoyed insiders told TFT that Dr. Abdullah was keen to express his
dissatisfaction towards New Delhi. He reportedly telephoned an
opposition leader and asked him to criticise Vajpayee’s announcements.
Expressing dismay at the package, Dr. Abdullah told the leader that
since he (Abdullah) could not openly oppose the package being in the
government, the opposition should take up the issue.
The leader contacted another politician, who passed on the buck and
eventually it was the communist leader, Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, who
called a press conference and said the package was an eyewash and was
no substitute to a political solution to the Kashmir problem.
Vajpayee’s remarks on the maximum autonomy resolution passed by the
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly two years ago also proved a major
embarrassment to the ruling NC. Virtually rejecting any further
negotiations on the demand of autonomy, Vajpayee said the assembly
resolution was rejected by his cabinet after due deliberations.
Period.
Meanwhile, the brutal assassination of the septuagenarian leader,
Abdul Gani Lone, has triggered a succession war in his family. This is
hardly surprisingly since this seems to be no different from how the
National Conference (NC) and the Awami Action Party (AAP) operate.
Both parties have become synonymous with Sheikh Abdullah and Mirwaiz
families, respectively.
To avoid the succession war between the sons from getting worse, the
party elders made a unique arrangement, appointing the younger son,
Sajjad Lone, chairman of the Peoples’ Conference (PC), the party Lone
had founded in 1979. The elder one, Bilal Gani, would, however,
represent the party in the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a
crucial job in the present political environment. He would also head
the party’s five-member supreme council.
Although the Hurriyat leaders say it was the party’s own decision,
rumours doing the rounds in Srinagar say Sajjad’s initial outbursts
against the Pakistani intelligence agencies and the pro-Pakistan Syed
Ali Geelani marred his chances of entering the APHC. This was despite
the fact that Sajjad later changed his earlier statement, terming it
an emotional outburst.
There is another theory as well. That the Hurriyat might have felt
uncomfortable dealing with Sajjad because of his close relations with
the JKLF co-founder Amanullah Khan. This would have got Khan into APHC
by proxy, thereby annoying another JKLF leader and powerful APHC
executive member, Mohammed Yasin Malik. The latter does not recognise
Khan’s JKLF.
Interestingly, until a few years ago, Lone had been grooming his
younger unmarried daughter Shabnam, an attorney, to succeed him. A
practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court of India and in Srinagar,
Shabnam was considered a natural heir to Lone’s legacy. However,
lately, Shabnam had parted company with her father and moved out. She
has since been living in rented houses in Srinagar and New Delhi with
her long-time friend Ms. Jasbir Kaur.
It is not known whether she staked a claim to the leadership, but
party sources say she was unacceptable to the workers. Another rumour
says that for the past two years she has been seeking a mandate from
the ruling NC to contest elections from her father’s stronghold of
Handwara.
Not only the people but the held J&K’s police officers are also
concerned over the infighting between Hizbul Mujahideen’s
Muzaffarabad-based leadership and its so-called Srinagar-based ‘peace
brigade’ led by Abdul Majid Dar. Expelled from the Hizb, Dar and his
comrades have become threatened species in the held state.
Security is a major problem in held J&K. During the last elections,
many people wanted to contest only to get a free bullet-proof vehicle
and a group of four personal security officers (PSOs) to show off.
Once someone gets into the list of protected persons, he is entitled
to a residence as well. This has become a major headache for the held
state government. Since there aren’t enough residential quarters to
accommodate the entire ‘threatened brigade’, the state has had to
acquire more than a dozen hotels to house these VIPs. According to
some estimates, protecting these people costs a whopping Rs 10 billion
the state exchequer annually.
Over the years, the list of threatened people has been swelling.
Initially, only the avowedly pro-Indians elements were given the
security cover. To that list were added the surrendered militants and
even criminals who were prepared to join the pro-India militia. Now,
the state has put the leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
(APHC) on that list as also Abdul Majid Dar and his company. The show
goes on…