As per news reports of February 9, the National Human Rights Commission took cognizance of a complaint by three Army kids seeking appropriate enquiry in the recent incidence of stone pelting and assault by an unruly mob on the Army personnel in the Shopian (J&K) on January 27.
The complaint raised the issue of safety of Army soldiers and officers deployed in encounter insurgency areas; innumerable frequent instances of violation of human rights of army personnel, particularly in J&K. The NHRC has asked MoD for factual report in the matter and steps taken by the government on the points raised by the army kids.
The complaint had quoted date-wise series of incidents. NHRC’s missive to MoD included, “It is pointed out in the complaint that the administration, which is being assisted by the Indian Army, has failed to safeguard the human rights of the members of the Armed Forces. They cited instances of various countries, wherein severe punishment is meted out to those involved in stone pelting on Armed Forces. They have also stated that it is revealed that the FIRs, registered against the stone-pelters and perpetrators of violence, had been withdrawn upon the directions of the Government of J&K and that it will definitely lower down the morale of the troops.”
Whether the MoD replied to the NHRC or not is not known but one month later on March 9, news headlined Dineshwar Sharma, Centre’s Special Representative (read interlocutor) for J&K, telling media, “Civilian killings must stop. The security forces must show restraint and not resort to disproportionate firing…. I was hoping for a better summer but violence has come as a setback. Amongst the districts in south Kashmir, Shopian is particularly alienated and angry. We must be sensitive while dealing with the people of Kashmir”. The pro-Pakistan section of Indian media media and particular journalists working overtime to vilify Army, added spice but was Sharma’s statement preparing base for MoD to reply to NHRC?
What happened on January 27 at Shopian is in public domain; an Army convoy subjected to heavy stone-pelting by a 200-300 strong frenzied mob resulted in grievous injury to a JCO who the mob tried to kill, injured 7-8 soldiers, set fire to and damaged army vehicles that forced the Army to open fire resulting in the death of three civilians. It was obviously pre-planned, the timing perfect to postpone Panchayat Elections, deflecting suspicion from the State Government. Panchayats haven’t been empowered anyway for State Government to continue absolute power and finances.
CM Mehbooba Mufti rang up the Union Defence Minister and got J&K police to file FIR against the Army. The FIR stated that a company of 10 Garhwal Rifles led by Major Aditya (he was not on the scene at all) was on its way for official duty when it was attacked by an unruly mob with stones. Significantly, Mehbooba released 9000 stone-pelters just before the Shopian incident withdrawing all cases against them – similar to releasing over 600 stone-pelters three days before Burhan Wani’s killing; the coincidence speaks volumes.
The FIR caused the father of Major Aditya to move Supreme Court fearing for his son. When the Supreme Court restrained J&K Police from undertaking any investigation in pursuance of the FIR filed against Major Aditya Kumar, directing the listing of the matter for “final disposal” on April 24, Mehbooba did volte face saying the FIR was not against Major Aditya. But on March 6, J&K Police issued a status report saying Army did not cooperate with the investigation against Major Aditya Kumar, named in an FIR after the killing of three civilians in Shopian on January 27.
J&K DGP SP Vaid told media, “Neither the Army nor the public has cooperated with our investigation (Shopian incident of January 27) from the beginning”. So who is lying – Mehbooba or Vaid? PDP-HM-Pakistan (Hijbul Mujahideen) links are deep rooted as was displayed by Mufti Mohammad Saeed (Mehbooba’s father) publicly thanking Pakistan for winning elections in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But Dineshwar Sharma training barbs on Army for the Shopian incident are in poor taste. He is former Director of Intelligence Bureau and third generation Police even though he first qualified for India Forest Service. Originally from the Kerala Cadre (same as NSA Ajit Doval), he has served as IG CRPF in charge of J&K, which along with his tenure in IB, would have given total understanding of Pakistan’s proxy war and linkages of J&K politicians in the murky game. He would be aware of: NIA citing letter of a Pakistani Prime Minister proving nexus between Pakistani Government, its ISI and Hurriyat; Mehbooba’s attempts to stonewall NIA investigations against Hurriyat by saying NIA has no jurisdiction in J&K; various NIA reports citing hundreds of crores of rupees diverted within India to funnel terrorism in J&K, including from the J&K Affectees Fund (obviously with NC-PDP nexus); Farooq Abdullah openly calling for azaadi, rule of Sharia and siding with the stone-pelters.
Omar Abdullah without a word against stone-pelters is calling for high level special investigation team simultaneous magisterial probe ordered by J&K State – aim being to keep Army up in questioning, counter questioning and litigation. Dineshwar Sharma realize with eliminating some 200 terrorists during 2017 due close Army-J&K Police-CAPF coordination, one aim of the hopian incident-FIR is to create a rift between the Army and Police?
But while Dineshwar Sharma virtually blames Army for the Shopian firing, who is he speaking for? Is it the Centre, stone-pelters, Mehbooba Mufti or J&K DGP SP Vaid under whose nose the Srinagar Central Jail has been functioning as a terrorist cell, NIA having recovered 25 mobile phones, SIM cards, five SD cards, five pen drives, an iPod, Hizbul Mujahideen poster, Pakistani flag and jihadi literature recently? As interlocutor, he would like to mollycoddle stone-pelters but why at the cost of Army? Would he like to elaborate on the Defence Minister’s reference to the Rohingyas when speaking to media on the recent terrorist attack at Sunjwan Army Camp in Jammu, and why nothing is being done about it? Besides, when J&K State Government is in coalition with the ruling political party at the Centre, do we actually need a separate interlocutor? What is the state government doing? Is it not the job of the state government to be in touch with all the stakeholders?
The ‘Game of Interlocution’ in India would make a fascinating study. One self appointed interlocutor with the Maoists, a saffron clad-activist (former MLA-cum-minister of a state adjoining Delhi) once spoke forcefully at a premier Think Tank in Delhi against the Graham Stuart Staines family murder on January 23, 1999 – fair enough, with Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh finally convicted in 2003. But when activist was questioned if he ever bothered to visit thousands of Kashmiri Pundits living in refugee camps their own country, which he had not, he was got visibly agitated. Not known whether he continues interlocution with Maoists, but in August 2011 during another social activist’s fast in Ramleela Maidan he was caught on tape talking to a lawyer-cum-MP of then ruling party, later claiming that the RSS stamp was very much evident in the campaign.
Then you had a set of interlocutors for J&K appointed in 2010 by UPA II – a journalist (former editor of a national daily with well known bias), a professor (information commissioner) and a trustee of a Think Tank in Lutyen’s Delhi. Their report was never made public possibly because UPA II saw too many skeletons. However, they apparently enjoyed their interlocution activities. An intrepid journalist happened to observe too many foreign jaunts and questioned who was funding these trips? Reply given to him was that it was MEA, but when he queried MEA the answer was they had given no money for such trips. So who was funding them was obvious. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai may have been arrested in 2011 by FBI for concealing the transfer of $3.5 million from Pakistan’s ISI in lobbying efforts and influencing US Government on the Kashmir issue, but there would be scores of Fai-variety operating in India.
The best part is that the professor (information commissioner) who enjoyed his tenure as interlocutor under UPA II has denounced the appointment of Dineshwar Sharma as interlocutor, terming the dialogue as diversion (http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/dialogue-as-diversion-dineshwar-sharma-appointment-kashmir-tensions-army-militants-loc-4912685/).
During the NDA II, we also saw a self appointed Track II interlocutors group hobnobbing with Hurriyat and others in J&K. it included a Congress leader who publicly will stoop to any level in bending backwards to the ISI and Pakistan, a former Union Minister during NDA I who appears to have been well psyched, and a veteran military officer who has turned virtual spokesperson for Hurriyat separatists. Latter has been trumpeting their cause in seminars and recommending every school in J&K must have sports grounds etc. He can’t reply why at some places children play cricket in Pakistani uniforms and hoist Pakistani, ISIS flags. When asked whether he has looked into the education system in the Valley, he has no answer.
It may be news for many that on the sidelines of the 4th Seminar on Countering Terrorism held by Maharashtra State Police on January 4, 2017, the Executive Director of the Delhi-based Institute of Conflict management disclosed he had just visited the Valley and was horrified to discover that class five textbook of a school (not madrassa) teaching children to hate non-Muslims. Remember J&K politicians shouting from rooftops when Army Chief General Bipin Rawat recently pointed out education system in J&K must be looked into? It is a sinister and systematic plan in which J&K State politicians are fully complicit and Centre is mute. You can make any amount of sports fields and allot any amount of funds but the situation will keep deteriorating given the manner in which the new generation is being tutored.
Forget the locals in Jammu agitating against Rohingya influx, would Sharma find time to visit Sunjwan and see buildings occupied by Rohingyas that are looking ‘inside’ the Army Camp? What a shame that as this article goes for publication, TV reporters in Jammu reporting on Rohingyas have been attacked. While Mehbooba pops the bubbly, can Sharma advise the Centre to stop fence sitting and act?
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