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Conducive situation for dialogue in 4-6 months: S P Malik

Shuchismita. Dated: 11/6/2018 12:28:53 AM

‘No new militant ‘recruitment’ in last 2 months’

JAMMU, Nov 5: Governor Satya Pal Malik Monday stated that his policy would, for sure, in next four to six months, bring about a tectonic change, a turnaround in Kashmir to restore normalcy, peace and create conducive atmosphere for dialogue, as he had been tasked by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Governor was addressing media after inspecting ceremonial guard of honour on the occasion of re-opening of Civil Secretariat and other Move offices in the winter capital, after functioning for six months in Srinagar as a part of annual Durbar Move exercise. His three Advisors Khurshid Ganai, B B Vyas, K Vijay Kumar and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, accompanied him in the interaction.
Malik stoutly defended his policy to restore normalcy and peace in the state saying that it did work to arrest incidents of stone-pelting and militancy. To substantiate his contention, he sought to draw parallel between, what he said, “violence-free 4-phased Urban Local Bodies’ polls” held recently across state in his tenure and “blood-soaked past electoral exercises in Kashmir.” He contended that there was no new ‘recruitment’ in militant cadre in last two months.
PRESENT POLICY TO SHOW TANGIBLE RESULT: When asked to spell out his “policy” in the light of his repeated assertion that ‘militancy will not end by killing terrorists’ and a stark reality that the administration had failed to break the cycle of ‘local youth joining militant ranks, Governor stated that tangible result on the ground would itself reflect the effectiveness of steps being taken by his administration.
“Change will happen for sure, just have patience and give us for say four to six months. Our policies, I feel, are working and people are awakening to realities. The biggest thing to remember is – militancy is not associated with the gun but it has its roots in minds. So we’ve to tackle it (militancy) by bringing a change in mindset, which is happening. Hence, change for good is bound to happen as we, through our present policies and steps being taken, have successfully entrenched in the minds of people this realisation that stone-pelting and militancy will not yield any result, but dialogue, for sure,” he said.
NO NEW RECRUITMENT IN MILITANT CADRE IN PAST 2 MONTHS: Responding to part of query relating to local youth joining militancy cadre, Malik said, “Bear with us for some time to see the tangible results of steps, being taken by us, on the ground. Since I’ve assumed the charge, there has been apparent decline in the incidents of stone-pelting (in the Valley). Not even a single big incident of stone-pelting has been reported so far though there might be some smaller such incidents involving few youth, say 10 or 20 youth. And the reason behind this positive change is that I’ve tried to address the issue honestly- analyzing in a very candid manner – as what went wrong, where and who erred where,” he sought to spell out his policy.
“Problem is we unequivocally acknowledge our slip-ups but they (subversive elements) never do so (admit their mistakes). So the sum-total of our honest efforts is that there’s been no new ‘recruitment’ (of local youth) in militant cadre, in last two months. So this has really helped weaning away the local youth from joining militancy, with the sole exception of this youth, who had come from Ghaziabad and reportedly joined militant ranks. Though even in his case, the matter is still in the realm of speculation and nothing can be said with certainty,” he pointed out.
WILL DELIVER AS PER MANDATE: With regard to his mandate and priorities, Governor stated that there was people-friendly dispensation at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The latter has mandated me to reach out to people, live up to their (people’s) expectations, deliver on the front of development, be available to them 24X7 and create conducive atmosphere for dialogue to solve the tangle. So just give us four to six months, we’ll create conducive atmosphere which will lead to a result-oriented dialogue,” he said.
He denied reports of spurt in local youth joining militancy and taking up arms. “Tell us the names of those who joined militant groups in the recent past. In past three months, no youth BIOMETRICS COLLECTION OF ROHINGYAS TO BE COMPLETED IN 2 MONTHS : Responding to a question related to the direction of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to all state governments to collect the biometrics of Rohingyas, the Governor stated that the process in J&K would be completed in two months.
Referring to situation arisen due to heavy snowfall and rains in Kashmir Valley and parts of Jammu region, he said the administration’s response was prompt in the restoration of services in the affected areas. Malik said the farmers suffered losses for which government had provided them interim relief, while adding that further assessment was being carried out for providing compensation to the victims of the natural calamity in Kashmir region. He informed that the assessment of losses would be completed within 2-3 days. The Governor said that power supply to majority of areas of Kashmir valley had already been restored as 90 percent of restoration work was completed. “This was historic in the sense as veterans told me that this never happened in the past that things were brought back to normalcy so swiftly,” he said.
Malik said as per the report of Divisional Commissioner Jammu, the compensation for damages incurred by agriculturists and horticulturists in the region in recent rains and hail storm had already been paid.