PULWAMA ATTACK AND POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS

Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed had selected a teenager from the valley, brain-washed and trained him to be a suicide bomber to carry out the dastardly attack on the convoy carrying the CRPF people travelling to their camp, in which more than 40 CRPF people were martyred.  Immediately after the attack was publicised, the JeM had owned responsibility for the attack.  From the reports in the media, it is seen that the JeM had imported a terrorist from Afghanistan to train this young Kashmiri to carry out this attack.  Pakistan, through its foreign minister had immediately refuted the claim of India that Pakistan is responsible for this attack.  The minister had gone one step ahead to seek any evidence for linking Pakistan with this attack. The voluminous data and evidences given in the Mumbai attack had not evinced any concrete action against the chief perpetrators as yet.  And Pakistan  is demanding evidence of linkage now in this case.  It is a travesty of truth and a joke of the millennium.

It is reported that the chief perpetrators of the terror activities in the valley had been shifted from POK to some safe house in interior Pakistan a la Bin Laden in Abbattobad.   If that is true, then the Pak establishment is anticipating some serious reataliation from the Indian side for this attack at Pulwama and want to safe guard the perpetrators involved in the terror activities in the valley from falling victims to the retaliatory action by the Indian army.  The entire nation stands with the present political establishment and the Prime Minister had already indicated that army had been given full freedom to choose the time, manner and place of retaliation.  The nation also is voicing its concerns for a quick retaliation to avenge this attack.

The IT security expert, based abroad, who is one of the most vocal anti congress critic, has asked a series of questions to the president of the GOP in the country, through his twitter account.  If what he wrote in his tweet is to be believed then the congress and its president have more to answer.  The very silence from the congress and its president for the tweets of this person is raising lots of doubts in the minds of many who are even now sympathetic to the idea of congress getting back to power and support the party despite its dynastic approach to leadership and subservient attitude of the rank and file including senior leaders.  The party and its senior leaders are allegedly embroiled on corruption charges of various magnitudes. 

The immediate calling of all the heads of missions in Delhi for a briefing by the MEA and the support from many nations, especially the US of A in these difficult times, is a pointer to the good will that has been generated in the past almost five years with the relentless travel by the prime minister to many nations. His visits to most of the nations in the four and a half years is bearing fruits now. The all party meeting called to discuss the attack the actions initiated by the government, was not attended by a few parties and few leaders left even before the meeting concluded. Added to that the members of the parties did not come to a consensus with the government in naming Pakistan and declaring the country as a terror sponsor.  Despite this shortcoming from the political parties, now every party demands that the UN and USA to declare Pakistan as a terror sponsor nation.  There cannot be more a folly than this.  

The security cover given to some of the separatist leaders had been withdrawn; but why stop with a few?  The security cover given to all the political people and entire lot of separatist leaders in the state have to be withdrawn.  The security cover is to be extended only to those wielding power and with the assembly dissolved, only the governor and his aides deserve such security. 

The political fall out of this attack is going to be very difficult in the coming days leading to the general election to the national parliament.  The ruling front will try to fan the emotion of the public in trying to garner the votes to retain the power.  It had happened in the immediate aftermath of the retaliatory surgical strike happened as an answer to the URI attack.  The opposition will try to latch onto the intelligence failure and the alleged mishandling of the Kashmir situation by the government both in the center and the state.

Many are clamoring for abrogation of Art 370 and Art 35-A in the constitution claiming now is the time to do it.  The article 370 giving a special status to the state of J&K had imposed many conditions on the other citizens.  The provision barring the other citizens from acquiring property is one of the major causes of inability of the industries coming up in the state.  The major industrialists are unable to acquire property in the state freely as in other states which hamper industrial growth in the state.  This is giving rise to unemployment to the educated youth of the J&K in the whole and the Kashmir valley in particular.  This is giving lots of room to the people who master mind terror attack to recruit the disgruntled unemployed youth, motivate them to act against the government and the security forces.  Abrogation of the Art 370 may require the parliamentary approval and given the position of the present ruling party and the numbers in both the houses of the parliament,  it may not be possible. The Art 370 may be modified as done in the past by diluting some of the provisions especially relating to acquisition of property in the state by other citizens.  The times of Nehru-Sheik Abdulla is entirely different from the present climate.  Even Nehru had to imprison Abdulla and bringing him to Kodaikanal.