Speculation is rife in Kashmir about the possibility of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s tenure being cut short, as the Army goes ahead with its anti-militancy operations in the valley, ignoring the CM’s appeal to halt such operations during Ramzan. “We came to know about the Army setting up new camps in South Kashmir, from the local media. We are trying to create an atmosphere for ‘ceasefire’, but, unfortunately, things are not working”, a senior PDP leader told this reporter. The Army has already moved 2,000 additional troops to the valley in June. They have re-established many old camps and have started massive anti-militancy operations across South Kashmir. The Army has also killed many wanted militants in South Kashmir, with an eye on clearing the villages of all militants.
Sources close to the PDP government say that the Army operations have inflicted a body-blow to Mehbooba Mufti’s initiative to motivate young militants to surrender. “In June, the Army and the security forces killed even those militants who were being motivated to surrender,” a police officer who was in touch with the militants’ families, claimed to the media. Police officers said that among those killed were youngsters who had joined the militancy recently, and were apparently on the verge of returning to their homes. Earlier, the J&K Police had claimed that they were able to bring back to the mainstream 32 youths who had become militants.
With the Central government and the Army deciding to crush militancy with a heavy hand, Mehbooba Mufti and her PDP are feeling marginalised. The participation of thousands of people at the funerals of slain militants has eroded PDP’s public base in South Kashmir. With voices growing louder in New Delhi and within the state BJP to give a freer hand to the Army and the security forces, Mufti is left with very little room to manoeuvre.