OPINION: Conspiracy To Revive Terror In Kashmir Nipped In The Bud

A swift action of the Jammu and Kashmir police in which all the participants attending the meeting to revive terror were arrested, and saved Kashmir from slipping into another spell of violence. On July 9, a group of separatists had assembled at a Srinagar hotel to chalk out a strategy to "revive" Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and the separatists' conglomerate All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC). The date was fixed particularly on July 9 to observe the eighth death anniversary of Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist. Burhan Wani was killed by security forces on July 8, 2016, in south Kashmir's Kokernag in Anantnag district.

A meeting of over 40 participants was organised by Mohammad Yaseen Bhat, leader of the Democratic Political Movement (DPM), which is an affiliate of the Hurriyat Conference led by late separatists' patriarch Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

The police have so far registered a case against 10 separatist leaders vide FIR No 23/2023 under sections 10, 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 (UAPA) and section 121-A of IPC at the Kothibagh police station. The police have said that more arrests are likely in the case.

The arrested persons are Mohammad Yaseen Bhat of Nigeenbagh, Mohammad Rafiq Pahloo of Natipora, Shams-u-din Rehmani of Lalbazar, Khurshid Ahmad Bhat of Rawalpora, Sajad Hussain Gul of Panthachowk, Firdous Ahmad Shah of Abiguzar, Parray Hassan Firdous of Lawaypora, Masroor Abbas Ansari (son of late Maulvi Abbas Ansari, the former APHC Chairman), Jahangeer Ahmad Bhat (son of Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat former chairman of APHC), Shabir Ahmad Dar, and Sohail Ahmad Mir.

The separatists held A similar meeting on the June 13, on the directions of Pakistan-based handlers. This meeting was an overt attempt to start working for the revival of these moribund organisations, according to police.

Mohammad Yaseen Bhat had established contacts with the terror sponsors based in Pakistan, PoK, and in the UK, who are under the direct command of the Pakistan's ISI. He was in constant touch with Khalid Mir from Bandipora recently in PoK, Tauqeer Gilani, JKLF leader in PoK, Ajmat Khan based in the UK, Taseen Gilani brother of Tauqeer Gilani operating from the UK. The main brain behind bringing JKLF and Hurriyat leaders together is Mehmood Sagar, a close associate of Shabir Shah (presently in jail), operating from PoK.

The game behind the revival of the separatist movement is to show its existence in Kashmir to ISI to get financial, diplomatic, and logistic support from Pakistan. ISI has given a task to Kashmiri separatists and JKLF activists to harp on the release of Yaseen Malik from jail, diverting them from the main mission of the right of self-determination with definite design behind.

It is pertinent to mention that Mohammed Yasin Bhat, a Jammu and Kashmir Students' Liberation Front (JKSLF) activist was arrested and tried in a special CBI court, for kidnapping Nahida Imtiaz, the daughter of Saifuddin on 27 February 1991. He was sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). The first high-profile kidnapping case was of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in December 1989. The second incident of Nahida Imtiaz happened two years later.

It is interesting to note that people in Kashmir are impatiently waiting for the assembly elections to happen in a conducive and peaceful environment after the abrogation of Art 370. But Pakistan's ill will against the people of Kashmir has never receded. In the Supreme Court the Centre on July 10 in its fresh reply to petitions challenging the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, mentioned: "resolute anti-terror actions have resulted in the dismantling of the terror eco-system which is reflected in a significant drop in terrorist recruitment from 199 in the year 2018 to 12 in the year 2023 till date ". The stone pelting incidents that were as high as 1,767 in 2018, stand at zero in 2023, the government said.

(R C Ganjoo is a senior journalist and columnist having more than 30 years experience of covering issues concerning national security, particularly Kashmir. He has worked with several prominent media groups and his articles have been published in many national and international publications.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.