SYED ALI SAFVI
SRINAGAR, Aug 2: As political crisis deepens in the valley, mainstream political opposition parties are leaving no stone unturned in castigating Omar Abdullah–led coalition government to gain some political mileage out of the present crisis in the besieged Kashmir valley. The voices, typical of mainstream parties, have got lost into the cacophony of slogans, emanating from the battered streets of the valley.
Amid unprecedented political drama, it is the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, who is finding himself sinking deeper into the political quagmire of his own making.
The beleaguered chief minister seems to have lost relevance, a fact, though hard for him to swallow, but manifested on the streets of valley, which have literally turned into battlefields.
His frequent appeals, in desperation, to the people of Kashmir valley, urging them to help restore peace in the valley, have found no takers.
Moreover, his repeated pleas to the men in uniform, asking them to exercise utmost restraint while dealing with protestors, also seem to have fallen on deaf ears, consequently accentuating the problems for India’s youngest chief minister and seemingly a blue-eye-boy of the Gandhi family.
Pertinently, Kashmir valley has been seething with anger for the last more than a month. There has been no let up in the civilian killings. Police and paramilitary CRPF men have been killing civilians, mostly youth, who have been brought up in the conflict situation, at will and with impunity.
Ever since Omar Abdullah took over the resins of the state, lasting peace have eluded the valley.
Omar’s nightmarish 19-month stint in office saw the situation in Kashmir going from bad to worse. From Shopian double murder and rape case to employees’ stir, from Machil fake encounter to the recent spate of civilian killings, Omar’s report card has blood spilled all over it.
More than 50 innocent lives have been lost in police and CRPF action since January 5, 2009 – the day Abdullah the IIIrd was sworn in as the eighth chief minister of J&K.
Days after Omar took the reins of administration, a deaf and dumb man – Abdul Rashid Reshi – was shot dead in cold blood by army guards near Omar’s Gupkar residence.
On February three, 17 days after Omar had called for zero tolerance to human rights violations, a 25-year-old tailor – Fayaz Ahmad Mir – was shot dead by the troops at Lolab in Kupwara district.
On February 21, 2009 two innocent youth – Mohammad Amin Tantray and Javed Ahmad Dar – were killed in army firing at Bomai Sopore.
The list is long. The killing spree, which started in January 2009, has failed to end.
Reeling under intense pressure, the chief minister has been criticized by state Congress unit and some of his own party men for failing to control the situation.
Meanwhile, mainstream political opposition parties have also intensified opposition against the government.
Sources in the state’s principal opposition party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said that the party would not settle for any thing less than imposition of governor’s rule in the state.
The party had recently locked one of the entry gates of the civil secretariat here to protest the state government’s failure to contain the escalating unrest in the valley.
The party has also demanded release of incarcerated separatist leaders and hundreds of youths, who have been detained by police in the last one month.
Significantly, parties like CPI (M) and JK National Panthers Party (JKNPP) have sought the intervention of New Delhi to help restore normalcy in Kashmir.
Pertinently, nocturnal protests are back in Kashmir after 2 years. The valley mosques are abuzz with pro-freedom slogans. The violent protests have spread over to the entire valley.
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