Seeking
cooperation from other parties, he said a “healing touch” was needed
in Kashmir, not bullets or repression to “check alienation of the
people,” which caused militancy in Kashmir.
Mufti
Sayeed added “to err is human, still accountability of security forces
would be ensured.” The thrust of the Common Minimum Program (CMP)
adopted by the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, he said was on
dialogue rather than confrontation.
To
begin with, the government has increased the ex-gratia relief to
civilians killed in the anti-militancy drive from Rs 0.1 million
($2,000) to Rs 0.2 million ($4000) each. The next of kin of civilians
killed in anti-militancy campaign would also have a claim to a
government jobs under a special program.
The
release of top-ranking Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader
Yasin Malik Monday, November 11, shows that Mufti Sayeed means what he
says. “I was set free unconditionally,” Malik said on his release.
Malik
was arrested on March 25 on the charge of receiving $100,000 from a
Pakistani conduit to finance insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.
Malik
was held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and later under
Public Saftey Act (PSA), laws which human rights activists, liberals and
minorities assail as draconian. He was one of the first prominent
victims of POTA in Kashmir.
Rehabilitation
of victims too is easier said than done. As many as 3,100 next of kin of
civilians killed in military operation are yet to get government jobs
under the special rule called SRO-43.
A
report in Kashmir Times from Srinagar by Massod Hussain said till
now the government had received applications for ex-gratia relief of 3,
023 deaths of civilians, but only 1,008 have got it “for want of
necessary documents from police and hospitals.”
Es-gratia
compensation is debited to the security-related expenses (SRE), most of
which is reimbursed by the home ministry. In case of Kashmir police
personnel, the ex-gratia compensation is Rs 0.5 million ($10,000), and
another Rs 0.2 million ($4,000) from the police welfare fund.
A
survey carried out by the U.K.-based Save the Children Fund said 26.99
percent of the widows received the ex-gratia payment, which was a major
help to the distressed families. However, only a few got jobs under
SRO-43
