For the forces, it doesn't even offer a break

For the forces, it doesn't even offer a break
MUZAMIL JALEEL

SRINAGAR, NOV 21: With the jihadi outfits outrightly rejecting the peace proposal, the Government's unilateral ceasefire will not mean much to the soldiers serving in Kashmir.

``The Ramzan halt to operations will generate hope for peace. But it will definitely have no bearing on the lives of our men fighting militancy here. They will get no reprieve,'' said G S Gill, inspector general, Border Security Force, Kashmir Frontier.

In fact, he said, things will be little more difficult. ``When our men are aggressive, they are dominating but being defensive always means to be at the receiving end. Now they have to wait for the militants to strike rather than go after them and it is difficult''.

Gill, however, said that ultimately the forces too will reap the harvest of the peace proposal, if it lasts long.``Once the ceasefire turns into a permanent feature, it will definitely ease the tensions,'' he said.

He said the ceasefire proposal of the Government is to freeze the aggressive offensives where operations against the militants are planned and executed. However, he said, the defensive operations like keeping the roads safe and open, securing camps and retaliation to any attack will continue.

However, field commanders feel otherwise. ``This unilateral ceasefire will provide relief to us as well. Now we don't have to bother to go for cordon-and-search operations, road friskings or early morning patrols,'' said an inspector, who heads a company in Srinagar outskirts and operates from a sand-bag bunker. ``For the past two years, it is generally we who launch attack on their hideouts. If we stop going after them, they will not attack. They too long for relief. We listen to this feeling daily in their radio intercepts,'' he said. But he too agreed that there would be no change in the duty roster.

Director General of J&K Police Gurbachan Jagat is optimistic about the outcome of the unilateral ceasefire. ``I am hopeful the local cadre of all the militant outfits, especially the Hizbul Mujahideen, will react to it positively. Whether they will say it or not, they will definitely be happy.

But the foreign element will wait for the instructions,'' he said. ``It is a bit difficult for us because unlike the Hizbul ceasefire, this time the onus lies on us,'' he said. He said this move had been discussed for quite some time and the people in uniform have taken it positively.

The officers of the Special Operations Group, the counter-insurgency wing of the J&K police, too feel the suspension of operations will mean a lot.

``Once we stop being pro-active, 90 per cent peace will return to urban locales,'' a superintendent of police, Operations said. ``In fact, the focus now should be entirely to keep the infiltration under an absolute check. If borders are sealed properly, the militancy will definitely come down to a threshold point again. Then such peace initiatives will have a much more meaning,'' he said.

The spokesman of the Army's Kashmir Corps (15 Corps) Maj. Bharat Shahane said the orders regarding the implementation of the ceasefire will be issued in a day or two. ``The modalities are being worked out,'' he said.

``Ceasefire does not mean withdrawal of troops from any area, it means cessation of operations. We will not go for active operations but there will be no change in our routine defensive security measures,'' he said. He, however, said the ultimate fate of the ceasefire will depend on the reaction of the militants.