A sudden spurt in attacks by militants in Kashmir has raised eye brows in the security grid. However, many believe that it was on expected lines as militancy is not completely out, though surely on the decline.
Last week militants registered their presence by attacking three places in a single day. The major attack took place in South Kashmir’s Shopian district where three policemen were killed in an ambush.
What made these attacks different was that in two cases they targeted policemen and in the third one a former militant was shot at. Given the history of militant presence in Kashmir, these attacks are not unusual. But they have taken place at the time a new government headed by Peoples Democratic Party’s patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is in place.
Sayeed, who returned to power for the second time after leading a PDP-Congress coalition from 2003 to 2005 is seen as soft towards separatists and an advocate of reconciliation with Pakistan.
That might not make him acceptable to militants, who espouse their cause on a different track. But making reconciliation and peace as the centre of his politics and advocating talks with Pakistan gives him some leverage on the ground.
Though PDP’s alliance with right wing BJP was seen as “near betrayal”on part of PDP by the people in Kashmir, Sayeed tried to change the discourse by taking some steps, which are not digestible to BJP.
For example release of hard-line separatist leader Masarrat Alam put the BJP on the back foot but Sayeed did not relent. This helped him change the perception in the Valley.