Bad to worse

KASHMIR is losing the count of its dead as the ongoing conflict enters a dangerous and audacious phase. Last week saw a spurt in killings and an unusual happening: politicians skipping the funeral prayers of policemen dying in the line of duty. The massacre of six policemen in an ambush on Friday evening in the Acchabal area of Anantnag district, within hours of the killing of Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Junaid Mattoo, delivered a message to the security forces that militants would retaliate instantly and fiercely to  avenge the killing of their colleagues. This is not the first time policemen have been ambushed, but the latest killings have created a scary environment. The all-pervasive thought ruling the Valley is that the “enemy” wears the uniform. This has propelled new challenges for the state police, already under pressure from the conflict between the prevailing pro-militant sentiment and the call of duty. 

The task is getting tougher as the hostility towards them is no less than that towards other uniformed forces. Political support, too, is not discernible as most politicians have chosen to stay away from their funeral prayers. That has not gone down well with the families of the slain policemen, even though politicians’ decision could have been influenced by security concerns. Immediately after the Acchabal atrocity, militants mounted another attack on the security forces’ camps in Bijebhra, Anantnag, on Saturday. The militants have shown their capacity to strike anywhere and anytime. 

Also, a nexus of militants and stone-throwers has surfaced at encounter sites. Security forces view them as disrupters of operations and “enemies” like the holed-up militants, while the locals sympathetic to the idea of separatism see them as innocent protesters under attack from the “Indian forces that have declared a war on the people of Kashmir”. Such emotional bonding is unprecedented in Kashmir. The locals’ connect with militants and disconnect with the state police is a new and dangerous phenomenon. Things are bad and are likely to worsen because there is no counter to the prevailing sentiment and violence in Kashmir.