Killings have undone the goodwill

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, FEB. 17. Across the political spectrum, party leaders fear that the recent killing of civilians by security forces in Kashmir has partly undone the goodwill created among the people of the State by the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Government ahead of Ramzan last year and already extended twice, a month at a time.

However, politicians are unwilling to go on record as they do not want condemnation of the killings to be misconstrued as criticism of the security forces.

At the Bharatiya Janata Party office the most that leaders were willing to say was that an inquiry had been ordered into the firing on demonstrators protesting an alleged custodial death, and the party would like to wait for the findings of the inquiry committee.

The Congress spokesperson, Mr. Jaipal Reddy, said ``the incidents show that the Government has not been able to maintain peace in an effective manner.''

What is being conceded by the BJP as well as other parties is that the killings and the largescale protests in Kashmir have queered the pitch ahead of tomorrow's crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs where the present is to be reviewed.

The BJP has adopted a cautious approach - saying the Government was in the best position to take the right decision - although earlier the party president, Mr. Bangaru Laxman, and other senior leaders had demanded a ``review'' of the ceasefire while hinting that its continuation in the absence of a concrete and positive response from Pakistan would be counter-productive.

The party's feels that the Government should consider the possible impact of continuation or discontinuation of the ceasefire on international opinion as well as the hard ground realities in Kashmir.

The view is that Pakistan's response over the last three months was not encouraging. ``The Government will have to assess whether the level of violence in the Valley will come down if the ceasefire is not extended, and whether by its extension another chance will be given to peace and its prospects will be brightened. It will also have to assessed whether the gains made by the ceasefire will be frittered away by ending it,'' Mr. Jana Krishnamurthy, BJP vice-president,

One scenario was a possibility of India and Pakistan being pressured into entering a dialogue on Kashmir even before the Pakistan-inspired violence in the Valley comes to an end.

That pressure could increase if the ceasefire was extended, and clearly the BJP will be unhappy if India is forced to change its position of ``no dialogue with Pakistan unless the violence stops,'' party leaders said.

It is also felt that those who have their eyes on international diplomacy were keen to extend the ceasefire, while others who cannot but see the realities on the ground were opposed to a further extension.

The proposed visit of the Hurriyat delegation to Pakistan, as a step towards evolving a peace formula, has not yet taken place.

If that is to be given a chance then the ceasefire may well be extended despite the view gaining ground that the time for unilateral gestures is over.

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