How hard is it to trust Kashmiris?

What lessons did the government learn from the Pahalgam terror attack and the four-day conflict with Pakistan? Given the sensitivity of Jammu & Kashmir and its importance in the geopolitics of the subcontinent, it was presumed that the government would pick up the right lessons and make the necessary course corrections.

Instead, it did everything it could to disappoint — from targeting ordinary Kashmiris to failing to evacuate residents from border areas before the clash.

The spontaneous show of solidarity with the country by the people in the Valley was an opportunity to restore statehood and win back their confidence. An opportunity lost — as the government blunders on with its blinkered vision.

Post-Pahalgam, most Kashmir watchers agreed that the democratically-elected Omar Abdullah-led government needed to be taken on board for all security-related matters.

On 29 May, when Union home minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level security meeting with J&K Lt-Governor Manoj Sinha, officials of the home ministry, security forces and intelligence agencies, chief minister Omar Abdullah was conspicuously left out. The intent couldn’t be clearer: to retain exclusive control over law and order in J&K. Is such a decision wise?

This was the third time this year that the Union government bypassed the chief minister, first in February, then in April. The repeated sidelining sparked criticism from several National Conference MLAs, who accused Amit Shah and the LG of systematically undermining the chief minister’s office.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack, the Abdullah-led government renewed its call for restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood — a move that would return control of the Unified Command, the region’s top security body, to the elected chief minister.

As National Conference leader Nasir Aslam Wani put it, the chief minister is “not an outsider and should be part of all decision-making”. The central government, the armed forces, the intelligence agencies and the LG should not be the only players in Kashmir’s security system.

“People of the state are key stakeholders; if they are given responsibility for their own affairs, one wonders whether atrocities like the one in Pahalgam would take place,” said Wani.

It’s the people who bear the brunt of security measures — or the lack thereof — and it’s a travesty that they have no say in matters that directly concern them.

Building trust between the Centre and the people of Kashmir is crucial, but the Centre’s current stance — denying the elected government its rightful powers and failing to follow through on repeated promises — only breeds distrust, Wani added.

Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, CPI(M) MLA elected from Kulgam for the fifth time running, is more forthright. While pointing out that under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, law and order is the domain of the LG and overseen directly by the MHA, Tarigami says, “Kashmir is a unique state. It is surrounded on three sides by Pakistan and China. By not involving the elected state government, they are sending out a signal that Omar’s government is not reliable and not in a position to restore peace or stop terrorism.”

He adds with dismay, “The National Conference has paid a heavy price and lost thousands of their cadre to terrorists. Sometimes I wonder if the reason they (the Central government) do not trust us is because we are Kashmiris and Muslims. What they forget is this: you cannot fight terrorism without involving the local people.”

Dr Ajay Sahni, director of the Institute of Conflict Management and an expert on counterterrorism, concurs with this perception. “This government does not believe in delegating responsibility to state governments,” he says. “It is obvious they do not trust the local population because they are Muslims. There is a basic animus towards them.”

Omar Abdullah has confessed just how difficult the situation is for him, divested of all power, walking the tightrope between public expectations and the conflicting demands of the home ministry and the LG.

Pointing to the multiplicity of power centres in J&K, he said, “We (in J&K) have a strange arrangement. Tourists are my responsibility (as tourism minister) but the security of tourists is not my responsibility. Here, three governments will have to work together — the elected government of J&K, the unelected government of J&K and the government of India.”

A senior police official pointed out, on condition of anonymity. “Senior police officers are being replaced by outsiders who are not familiar with either the local terrain or the psyche of the public. No wonder [there was] a major security lapse in Pahalgam. There needs to be a detailed inquiry as to how this was allowed to occur.

"Worse, the bodies of the gunned-down tourists lay in Baisaran meadow for up to three hours, with many being carried bodily down to Pahalgam. They should have been ferried to hospital by helicopters. When the home minister visited the meadow the following day, 700 paratroopers and others security personnel were brought in to provide him with a security blanket!”

The public is becoming increasingly disgruntled with the Omar Abdullah government. The MLAs’ Local Area Development (LAD) Fund has not been released so far despite the budget being passed in March. This has made the public restive as these elected representatives are not in a position to sanction even the smallest development project.

To make matters worse, BJP leaders from Jammu have been tasked with assessing the situation in the Valley.

“Why should BJP leaders be asked to make an assessment? This has made us extremely suspicious,” said Mohammed Perez Khan, a shopkeeper who sells electrical goods in Srinagar.

In the four-day conflict, J&K suffered the maximum casualties. Thirteen civilians died and 59 were injured in heavy cross-border shelling by Pakistan. Amongst the dead were five children. The artillery shells landed in civilian areas and destroyed houses, schools and other structures.

Omar Abdullah did chair an emergency meeting with the deputy commissioners of all the border districts through video conferencing, ordering the immediate release of contingency funds of Rs 5 crore to each border district and Rs 2 crore each to the other districts. He also insisted that shelters and bunkers be provided for people living in these vulnerable border areas.

J&K is the major conflict zone at this moment. How ironical then that a high-level meeting on 8 May was chaired by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Top brass from the army, navy, air force and police gathered to discuss how to enhance coordination and preparedness between the state machinery and defence forces.

This is what should have happened in Srinagar, says Tarigami. “That is why we are clamouring for statehood. Despite government assurances in Parliament, it seems unlikely that the Centre will grant us statehood in the immediate future.”