The brutal killing of the former militant-turned militia, Kuka Parrey, proves once again that those who live by the gun ultimately die by one. Parrey’s life tells a strange story. A folk-singer in his youth who joined the separatist movement as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Liberation Front, he was trained in Pakistan in the dehumanising art and science of killing innocent human beings in pursuit of uncertain separatist goals. But very soon he switched sides and became, in the mid-nineties, an early member of the militia forces fighting their erstwhile comrades at arms. By 1996 he was ready to enter politics and was elected to the state assembly. Militants eliminated his nephew in 1998 and have finally got him now. But changing times and popular disillusionment with his violent — and some would say, criminal — ways, led to his being rejected by the people in the elections last year. While the induction of Parrey into electoral politics demonstrated the fundamental importance and value of democracy, the state machinery’s turning a blind eye toward his continuing violent ways tended to detract from the same process. There is a strong case to use such former militants to act in support of the legitimate government against terrorism since it has a serious negative impact on the militant-terrorist groups and their legitimacy. Many would, therefore, condone the process of recruiting former militants and terrorists into a law enforcing machinery. In forming a judgement on the rights and wrongs of mobilising and arming former militants against current terrorists, we must remember that dealing with jihadi terrorism that targets innocents poses unique challenges in turbulent times, and every possible means needs to be employed to decimate their ranks. Others would argue that this would be justified since the enemy was not fighting according to civilised rules of armed conflict. But the reality also must be recognised that a heavy price was being paid by their innocent victims. What we need to remember is that when militants and terrorists return to civilisation, they must be expected to respect the law of the land lest the very system that they are supposed to protect is destroyed from within.
