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Vajpayee Begins Three-day Kashmir Visit Amidst Tight Security, Boycotts
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Security
check in streets of Srinagar
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By
IOL South Asia correspondent
NEW
DELHI, May 21 (IslamOnline) – Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee started Tuesday afternoon his three-day visit to the troubled
state of Jammu and Kashmir. The visit is taking place amidst
heightened tension on the India-Pakistan border, especially around the
Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.
The
secessionist Hurriyat Conference has announced its boycott of the
visit and called for a total boycott of the visit all over the Valley
of Kashmir Wednesday, May 22, when Vajpayee arrives in Srinagar to
empty streets.
The
prime minister's visit is taking place under the blanket of the
biggest security exercise ever undertaken by the Indian armed forces.
Over 30,000 personnel belonging to the armed forces, the paramilitary
and the local police are exclusively involved in various capacities in
what is going to be an unprecedented vigilance operation to protect
Vajpayee.
There
will be round-the-clock air combat patrolling involving at least two
aircraft. Radio and electronic jammers will be used extensively, and
hilltops along the prime minister's route have been secured against
sniper fire. In addition, road-opener parties have been deployed on a
large scale to clear mines. Satellite surveillance will monitor any
suspicious movement in the area.
The
prime minister's visit comes in the wake of the terrorist attack last
week on a civilian bus and the family quarters of an Army camp that
left 34 people dead.
The
prime minister is accompanied by Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani,
National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, and Army chief Gen
Padmanabhan. Defense Minister George Fernandes will later join
Vajpayee’s entourage.
In
a clear signal to the upping of the war hype, the prime minister's
first stop-over is at Jammu which witnessed the militant attacks on a
bus and army barracks last week, leaving 34 people dead, including
army personnel and their family members and several injured.
In
addition to visiting the site of the attack and meeting the families
of the victims, Vajpayee will also visit the Military Hospital to meet
the injured.
The
prime minister will arrive Wednesday in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer
capital, to spend two days there.
According
to official sources, the prime minister would be meeting several
delegations of political parties Wednesday. During the course of his
meeting, he will try his best to impress upon them the central
government’s resolve to hold free and fair state legislative
assembly elections which are slated for October.
Kashmir
observers have, however, inferred that legislative assembly elections
in the state will top the prime minister's agenda and that he will try
his best to involve some separatist leaders in the election process in
order to show the world that peace has finally dawned on the troubled
state.
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Indian
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
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Vajpayee’s
visit is also seen as yet another attempt to woo voters in the state
with more sops and concessions in the form of a new economic package
which he is expected to announce while in Srinagar.
The
Prime Minister is expected to visit frontline areas on the LoC and the
international border Wednesday morning. He will use the visit to
address Indian troops and bolster their morale.
Apart
from a visit to the forces stationed at the borders, the prime
minister will also chair a meeting of the Unified Command of the Army
and other security agencies to assess the overall security situation
in the state as well as on the LoC. The meeting will be attended by
the home and defense ministers.
Though
it has long been scheduled, the Indian premier’s visit takes place
against a backdrop of a highly tense Indo-Pak border. The home
minister has recently ordered the Army to consult the War Book, a
highly confidential document which contains day-by-day records of
previous wars including battle plans and strategies.
Defense
sources said that the War Book is maintained at all regimental
headquarters and is referred to normally when a war is about to take
place. Noteworthy is the fact that the next day after the paramilitary
forces and the Coast Guard were brought under the Unified Defense
Command, the Merchant Navy was also put under the operational command
of the Navy. This is all indicative of the preparations of an
offensive, experts say.
The
prime minister's visit to Jammu and Kashmir at this juncture is marked
by a twin-pronged strategy, analysts say. Firstly, to prepare a
suitable ground for the assembly elections in the state. For the
moment, the Center’s one-point agenda is to hold fair elections in
the state.
At
the same time, India wants to signal to Pakistan in no uncertain terms
that a "befitting" reply would be given for incidents like
May 14 which it blames on its nrighbor, although Pakistan has denied
Indain claims and no official or direct involvement has not been
proved.
It
is also believed that the war-like situation being created aims at
keeping Pakistan at bay from obstructing the election process in the
state of Jammu & Kashmir which the Center so desperately wants to
take place as a proof to the world that there is no problem in
Kashmir. Already, there are fissures in the ranks of the secessionist
Hurriyat Conference and the prime militant outfit, Hizbul-Mujahideen.
The Center wants to cash in on this by enlisting the support of the
"expelled" leaders of Hizbul-Mujahidin for a smooth election
process.
For
sometime, the Center has been toying with the idea of shifting Kashmir
chief minister Farooq Abdullah and suitably accommodating him in Delhi
as Vice President of India or a member of the central cabinet of
ministers. Senior Hurriyat leader Ali Shah Geelani has been reported
as saying that the Government had sent its top Intelligence Bureau
officer in Kashmir to him with three proposals: support peace process,
participate in polls, disown foreign militants and treat India and
Pakistan in a similar manner.
The
Indian prime minister's visit may or may not bear fruit. But the
unfolding drama in Jammu and Kashmir needs to be closely watched.
Whether it will be war or peace, only time will tell.
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