No Review Of AFSPA In J&K
By Syed Junaid Hashmi
14 March, 2011
Countercurrents.org
In blatant rebuttal to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s repeated assertion of revoking Armed Forces Special Powers Act-1990 from certain districts in Jammu and Kashmir, Commission on centre-state relations has recommended against reviewing the continuation of AFSPA in J&K.
Commission has in its report submitted to the government of India through union ministry of home affairs recommended that situation may not be right as yet to consider review of continuation of AFSPA J&K in view of the continuing armed infiltration, and sometimes in very large numbers, from across the Line of Control (LOC). However, it has called for sensitizing armed forces to use utmost discretion while using the provisions of this Act to ensure that no violation of personal or human rights take place.
It has also said that there have been from time to time complaints of its misuse while claiming that action on such cases by the government has also been swift and stern. The commission has urged New Delhi for reviewing policy on Kashmir and including two core elements of; (i) rapid socio-economic development with equal effort on confidence building; and (ii) continuation of strong administrative action to put an end to the militancy as quickly as possible.
The commission has observed that time bound action on the implementable suggestions of the Working Groups will definitely help in the further normalization of the situation while adding that relentless campaign and action against militancy including sealing of borders to stop infiltration, recovery of arms and ammunition and swift action against terrorists should continue. It has pointed out that since the situation is showing definite signs of moving towards greater normalization, there is need to increase efforts towards confidence building measures.
Commission has recommended reduction in the deployment of the Central Para Military Forces and simultaneous augmentation and training of the state police for taking full charge of the law and order situation in the state over a period of time, quicker rehabilitation of the deprived persons who have suffered on account of war or militancy and bringing back and resettling the communities who had left the state when the militancy was to its peak.
Referring to media both print and electronic, commission has pleaded it for reporting of the activities correctly, fairly and objectively. It has further asked the media organizations to ensure to be careful while reporting and advised for covering a happening from all angles. The commission says that while a good percentage of the local print media has been reasonable in its coverage, there have been reports that some of the local media reporting is distorted and not always correct.
Commission has recommended for suitably sensitizing local media against one-sided and biased reporting while imploring upon the greater presence of the National print media in the valley. It has stressed that major national press should be encouraged to bring out local editions from Srinagar and if required security support and other incentives should be offered for this purpose.
Similarly, report has said that there is a definite need for installation of high power transmitters with adequate power back up so that the national and state activities are seen on television by the population of the state even in the in far flung border areas. It has added that this handicap is well known and efforts have already been started for the upgradation of the systems. It is all the more important since electronic media from across the border has a much larger reach.
Commission has pointed out that hardly any major private sector or even a large public sector worth the name is operating in the state and hence, the government employment is seen as the main source of employment opportunity by the youth with the result that the State Government has got saddled with a massive number of State employees over the years.
Commission has recommended that it will serve an extremely useful purpose to attract as large an investment as possible in the state from the leading private sector companies in addition to what is being invested by the centre so that the youth gets engaged in real professional and productive employment. It has said that initiatives such as assurance of providing security infrastructure and support, offer of other incentives coupled with suitable modification of the state subject policy and the land laws (which in its present form practically negate all prospects of outside investment), may be even on a select basis to start with, should be taken so that the investment package is made viable enough for the multi-nationals and major industrial houses to get interested in coming to the state.
It has also recommended for making greater efforts to develop Srinagar, Jammu and Leh as the tourism hubs with all round modern facilities, good infrastructure and easy connectivity with other places of tourist interest in the state such as religious shrines, forests reserves. The commission has made several other recommendations vis-à-vis education and rural development sectors.
It needs to be reiterated that UPA led government constituted this Commission on Centre-State relations on April 27, 2007 since it was also a part of their commitment of Common Minimum Programme. Commission was headed by Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi and included Dhirendra Singh, Vinod Kumar Duggal, Dr. N.R. Madhava Menon and Vijay Shanker. The commission submitted its report to the government of India recently.
Syed Junaid Hashmi is a Journalist based in Jammu and has been doing research work on New Delhi's peace initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir. He can be reached at [email protected].
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