72 hours later, Valley silent, security forces keep fingers crossed

72 hours later, Valley silent, security forces keep fingers crossed
MUZAMIL JALEEL

SRINAGAR, NOV 30: Seventy-two hours after the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Government came into effect, the graph of violence in the state seems to be coming down. On the third day today, there were just four incidents, all minor as per Kashmir standards.

But the police and security forces are keeping their fingers crossed as a single attack can change the entire scenario. The Unified Command, which oversees counter-insurgency operations in the state, is monitoring the situation closely. Sources say 15 Corps Commander Lt General J.R. Mukherjee is personally keeping an eye on the militant reaction to the ceasefire on the ground.

Militants, in fact, have not made any serious attempt as yet to show their displeasure regarding the ceasefire, though all the major outfits had outrightly rejected Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Ramzan peace initiative. ``They (the militants) have not even attempted to attack in a big way. in fact, they have been avoiding direct confrontation and rather resorting to detonating improvised explosive devices,'' a senior Border Security Force (BSF) officer said. ``Apart from the incident in Baramullah (today), there has been no loss of life anywhere in a militant attack.''

Today morning, in Baramullah town, an unidentified militant fired at two BSF personnel purchasing vegetables. Four rounds were fired from a pistol fitted with a silencer, killing one BSF official on the spot and injuring the other. But the BSF troops exercised restraint. ``We took the casualty, but still there was no retaliation,'' noted Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range, A.K. Bhan.

Militants today also fired at the residence of a National Conference activist in Sopore besides attacking a security force picket in Ganderbal, but at both places, no loss of life or damage to property was reported. In a similar incident, militants attacked a gas plant at Pampore, but no harm was done.

Bhan told The Indian Express that they were in touch with senior officers of the BSF, CRPF and Army to monitor the happenings on a day-to-day basis. ``In fact, I have put many of my men specially to observe ceasefire implementation on the ground. And based on their reports, I am going to put forth suggestions to help make the entire process more successful,'' he said.

Bhan added that there were reports that routine security checks were still being conducted on roads in rural belts. ``We have taken notice of that too and hope it will stop soon,'' he said.

But overall, the police and security force officers are reluctant to comment on the decrease in violence and the daily death toll in the Valley in the past three days because ``it might provoke the militants into a big incident''. Bhan too gave a guarded reply. ``It (the lull) shows the people's resolve for peace and nothing else,'' he said.