Mehbooba’s Healing Touch Policy Hit as Kashmir Remains on Edge

J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti’s credibility stands shaken after her govt mishandled violence, writes Daanish Bin Nabi.

Even as reports emerge that Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s encounter may have been ‘stage-managed’, the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) much-touted ‘healing touch policy’ seems to be falling apart within three months of Mehbooba Mufti’s taking over as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister.

Mufti’s government gravely mishandled the situation after Burhan’s encounter. The security forces have claimed that the encounter took place at Bumdroo village in Kokernag. Voices are getting louder each day that the encounter was stage-managed by the security forces.

Reports in leading national newspapers and a story confirm this. Veteran journalist Prem Shankar Jha put these speculations to rest when he wrote, “Every bit of information that has surfaced suggests that the encounter, if not the actual killing, was choreographed.” This has enraged Kashmiris even more.

Palpable Anger

There are also reports suggesting that the security apparatus killed Burhan with Mehbooba’s approval. It doesn’t take long for one to understand why the house in Bumdroo where Burhan was killed was torched by the enraged people.

Last Friday night, two men, including a relative of a former cop-turned-surrendered militant, were shot at and injured by militants in Pulwama district. Both of them were cousins of Tariq Ahmad Pandit, a militant who had surrendered in May this year.

Healing Touch Not Visible

Even after the death of 43 people, neither BJP nor PDP politicians were seen in public. About 1,600 injured youth remain admitted in three major hospitals. The state’s health minister, who is from the BJP, is yet to visit the hospitals.

Mehbooba too has not visited the injured, most of whom are from south Kashmir, which is the PDP’s. On ground, it is literally people versus the armed forces. It seems that PDP’s healing touch is dying a slow death.

The government is doing everything under its control to stop the civilian killings in Kashmir. In doing so, our alliance partner, BJP, is fully supporting us.

Naeem Akhtar, Founding Member and Spokesperson, PDP

There have also been reports that the BJP may attack the PDP in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. Naeem Akhtar rubbished these claims. He called them “manufactured news only to create a wedge between PDP and BJP, and not the case in reality.”

Reminiscent of ’75 Emergency

As the ongoing turmoil in Kashmir enters its 11th day, the state government’s crackdown on the media continues. In the wee hours of Saturday, the police raided Press Colony in Srinagar to seize local newspapers. Internet services, including BSNL, have been suspended across Kashmir. Cable TV services have also been snapped. The suspension of newspapers and broadband internet services has paralysed the work of journalists and media outlets, especially online media. This is depriving people of access to information and disrupting communication, leading to a fear psychosis.

Irshad Ahmed Khan, the driver of a local newspaper, had a harrowing time with the state police on Saturday. A police vehicle started following his van soon after he left the printing press in Sheikhpora, Srinagar, at about 3 am.

Initially, I was confused whether this was a routine patrol. By the time I reached Press Colony, four-five police vehicles had surrounded my van. They ordered me to go back to Humhama police station. Our newspapers were seized. I did not argue with them as I feared for my life. They even took the wastage paper material of our printing press. They arrested the drivers of another newspaper. Fortunately, I was allowed to come back to office.

Irshad Ahmed Khan

Many journalists feel as if the Emergency had returned to haunt the valley.  Yusuf Jameel, a veteran journalist, says the Valley has been through worse. “Successive governments have made the same mistake here. They have not learnt from their mistakes. There was a media gag in 2008, 2009 and 2010, but Kashmir was still reported to the outside world.”

There is outrage among Kashmiri civil society members and academics for mishandling the Burhan Wani case. Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, Dean of Law Department of Central University of Kashmir, says: “Instead of a crackdown on media, New Delhi should go in for a crackdown on those who have been creating an illusion of normalcy because of a lull since 2010 in lieu of favours they enjoy.”

Young Men Gone Missing

One of the most worrying issues this time in Kashmir will be the boys who have gone missing since Burhan’s funeral. A senior police official who did not want to be identified said, “There are boys who have gone missing after Burhan’s funeral. We are doing everything to trace them but so far there is no news of these boys.” Many in Kashmir believe that all these boys have joined the militant ranks.

South Kashmir is volatile and several incidents of violence and militant attacks have gone unreported because of internet blackout by the authorities.

(The writer is a Srinagar-based freelance journalist. He can be reached at @DaanishNabi)

Also read:

Burhan Wani May Have Been Betrayed by His Hosts

J&K Security Forces Covering up Lapses by Claiming Infiltration