MILITANCY
S . P . Vaid said 1,660 policemen have been killed in the region , and that the country and the state should acknowledge their sacrifice .
While the DG says the cadets were being trained for both counterinsurgency and law-and-order duties , including how to tackle stone-pelting , the cadets were cautious about their role . A cadet says they have been trained to handling law and order and crimes , but omits counterinsurgency . “ We have to keep good relations with the people and help them out in all disasters ,” says Aqib Malik from Srinagar .
Of the total 33 policemen killed this
year , 10 were from Pulwama , making it one of the worst-hit districts in the Valley . Ashraf ’ s 62-year-old father Ghulam Qadir , who has a house adjacent to his son ’ s residence , says his son was like anybody else in the village . “ Having never been a part of counterinsurgency operations , he had not harmed anyone and that was why he would come home and stay with his family without any sec urity . We must know why he was killed . What was his crime ?” Dar asks .
Up in apparently calmer north Kashmir , wailing relatives of 49-yearold forest guard Tariq Ahmad Malik also want to know why he was killed . Around 55 km north of Srinagar , in the Tangmarg forest , is Zandpal — a hamlet surrounded by dense alpine trees on one side , and vast wheat fields and sparse apple orchards on the other . The road to Zandpal is steep , unpaved and full of potholes . Many people from different villages have come walking all the way to mourn with the family of a “ martyr ”. On August 23 , Tariq was killed in front of his two daughters , Ronak and Zeenat , class 12 students in a government-run school , his wife Shareefa and other relatives in the kitchen of his one-storey house .
Tariq was offering namaaz when a gunman fired at him from very close
LEFT BEHIND Tariq Malik ’ s kin mourn his death on August 23
“ My uncle Tariq spent years in jail . The army was looking for him the day he died . Why did Lashkar kill him ?”
range . The police say it was the Lashkare-Toiba . The Lashkar says it was the pol ice . “ My uncle spent long years in jail for being with the Tehreek ( Kashmir movement ). Even on the day he was killed , the army was looking for him . The police say the Lashkar killed him . We want to know why the Lashkar killed him . What was his sin ?” asks Tariq ’ s 25-year-old niece Tabasum , in a hall full of crying relatives , neighbours and friends , besides his elderly mother .
Officers at Kunzar police station describe Malik as the “ victim of factionalism and internecine squabbling ”. “ He was one time a very active OGW , but had been silent for some time . Maybe that ’ s why the Lashkar killed him ,” says an officer . Refuting the allegation , the Lashkar issued a long statement blaming the police and Indian agencies instead for carrying out such killings to drive a wedge between civilians and militants .
OF 130 militants killed this year in the Valley , 62 were in south Kashmir . Senior police officers argue this has caused a “ fear psychosis ” among the militants despite growing recruitment . The number of militants has crossed 300 , for the first time in two decades . And 130 Kashmiri youths have picked up guns this year so far — up from 126 last year , they say . “ We had a peaceful Amarnath yatra and no major attack anywhere in the Valley ,” says an officer . “ Militants have started hitting at soft targets like common policemen to provoke the pol ice force .” A senior officer in south Kashmir says militants are targeting policemen as their “ supporters , OGWs ( overground workers ) and hideouts are getting exposed ”, unnerving them .
Of 62 militants killed in south Kashmir , 33 died in Shopian district , known as the hotbed of Kashmir ’ s new militancy . The police say the militants are unable to grasp that their support base has dwindled and people no longer back them during gunbattles with the forces . “ They are several groups now . They no longer belong to any outfit . They hit soft targets like policeman holidaying in villages or local politicians , and now relatives of the policemen , expecting a disproportionate reaction from the police force ,” says a senior police officer . Another officer says the police are an important part of Kashmiri society and their families and relatives would number around 16 lakh . “ Nobody can afford to antagonise them ,” he says . Last year , the police received 1,18,000 applications from all over J & K for 5,362 posts of constables , and 70,000 for 680 posts of sub-inspectors . The highest number of applications ( 5,121 ) were from south Kashmir ’ s Anantnag district , followed by Shopian with 3,419 applications . O
12 OUTLOOK 17 September 2018