Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used his second Kashmir roundtable here today to push for, in terms more strong than ever, wide-ranging reforms in both the security apparatus in the state and in its democratic institutions.Despite the sudden surge in violence in the run-up to his visit, Singh urged the unified command—of the Army, police and the paramilitary forces—to capitalise on the “turnaround” in the ground situation by adopting a four-pronged strategy, the centrepiece of which is “zero-tolerance” towards custodial deaths.Its other elements: no human rights violations, proper behaviour with political workers and synergy among different security wings and political forces.The PM also decided to have five political sub-groups on various themes, including autonomy and Centre-state relations.The sub-groups, which will be announced tomorrow, will identify the political institutions necessary for security, human rights and good governance; how the different regions on either side could be revamped (Ladakh, Kashmir Valley and Jammu on the Indian side and Gilgit and Baluchistan in Pak); draw out the economic future of the state; specify steps to restore self-confidence and harmonise relations between different regions; and finally identify the institutional arrangements that will help to bring together people from either side of the LoC.Secured by a massive security dragnet that extended from Dal Gate to the Centaur Hotel, the Prime Minister told his top security commanders that they should take advantage of the changing situation which has manifested in the excellent turnout in the recent bypolls, significant highs in tourist influx and economic growth in the state. The Army and the state police were asked to consult with each other and also individually implement strategies to project a friendly image of the security forces.‘‘It is possible and desirable that you should be firm but humane, effective and efficient, in control but unobtrusive,” he said.And although the importance of the second roundtable had been marred by the boycott of the entire separatist brigade, Singh kept the window open to Hurriyat moderates led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq saying that he hopes ‘‘they (Hurriyat) will also join the series of roundtable conferences, at an appropriate time and share their views with us all.”In fact, Singh addressed several of the demands put forth by the separatists, including Hurriyat moderates, in their individual engagements with the Centre. Singh talked about his government’s resolve to bring the people living on either side of the Line of Control (J-K and PoK) closer and asked participants of the conference to identify institutions that can help bridge the two parts of Kashmir.“It is our effort and desire that there should be prosperity on both sides of the line of control,” he said. ‘‘For this, we wish that those new highways which are opening up between the two areas on both sides should be used not only for travel or tourism but also for trade and commerce.”The Prime Minister also said his government is reviewing the cases of all detainees. ‘‘Including in this is a review of the cases of those who crossed after violating our laws and who are now anxious to come home,” he told the roundtable.The case for amnesty for around 2000 Kashmiri youths, who had crossed the LoC in early ’90s for arms training, and now reportedly want to return home has also been made by Congress’s coalition partner Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), CPM leader and legislator M Y Tarigami as well as the opposition National Conference. In fact, this demand was highlighted in a speech by former Chief minister Mufti Mohamamd Sayeed.Singh stressed the need for strengthening the state human rights commission, an autonomous rights watchdog in J-K and the Accountability Commission, the state’s constitutional anti-corruption body. “There are several institutions in J&K that can become strength of the democracy here,” he said referring to these two.Significantly, Singh stressed on the need to be sensitive to the interlinking between Srinagar-New Delhi and New-Delhi Islamabad dialogue processes. ‘‘There are two dimensions to the problems of Jammu and Kashmir. One is the relationship between Delhi and Srinagar and the other is the relationship between Delhi and Islamabad,” he told the conference. ‘‘These two dimensions are of course different but each affects the other. In your exchange of ideas here, I want you to keep this in mind.”“It’s good that the PM has acknowledged the need to put an end to all human rights abuses here,” Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told The Indian Express. ‘‘But our stress has been on the cause of all these problems which lies in political instability.We have been stressing that there is a need for demilitarization especially as there is a huge amount of troop presence here.”The economist in Singh too dominated his day in Srinagar today. He reiterated that the Centre will provide financial support for the entire Rs 24,000-crore reconstruction package.Before the roundtable began, the Prime Minister reviewed his reconstruction plan with no less than 10 secretaries to the Union Government along with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Stressing on the need for an improvement in the power situation, the Prime Minister asked the Power Secretary to provide an additional 1,000 MW of electricity to the state during the coming winter and asked the Finance Secretary to sanction the vacancies in the Border Roads Organisation in a bid to push rural roads.
