Village which dreamt of peace doesn't have any hopes left

Village which dreamt of peace doesn't have any hopes left
MUZAMIL JALEEL

WARSUN (KUPWARA), NOVEMBER 21: This village was the first to talk peace in Kashmir.

In 1992, when violence ruled the Valley, a group of surrendered militants invited Rajesh Pilot and organised a peace rally -- the first ever after the emergence of militancy. Today nobody here believes the month-long ceasefire will help in reaching peace.

``Any ceasefire will be fruitful, if India and Pakistan decide to have peace here. India and Pakistan should talk to each other,'' said Choudhary Salam-ud-din, the village head, who is also an active Congress activist. ``We were the first to talk of peace and we suffered a lot. In fact, the entire political process began from here. But peace will only prevail once negotiations start,'' he said.

He said militancy was again on rise in this border belt. ``It is a different type of militancy. It is completely underground and nobody makes out what is actually happening,'' he said. ``A youngster from a neighbouring village, Dardisun, died in an encounter at Handwara and nobody here knew he was a militant,'' he said.

The Army too had a tough time in the neighbouring Reshigund and Dardsunarea this year when three officers including a Major and a Captain and at least eight soldiers were killed in militant attacks.

The villagers feel dejected. ``The security forces have not been able to control militancy even here where they had absolute support of the people,'' said Abdul Rashid Mir. ``This belt of two-three villages had stood against militancy but after eight years, nothing has changed. We feel choked between the two guns,'' he said.

This frontier district has been a hub of militancy since 1990 besides being the gateway for infiltration. Here, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's ceasefire plan or the rejection of the militant leadership have not been taken seriously. ``This is a war zone and here rules too are different. I don't even know what exactly the ceasefire plan was. I don't even care because here they (militants) are not going to be silent at all,'' a Major told this correspondent as he was supervising the construction of a concrete wall around his camp.

A few shopkeepers nearby too felt that the ceasefire was hardly to haveget any positive impact. ``It is just politics of ceasefire which India andPakistan have started to play to keep off international pressure,''said Abdul Rahim Dar, a lecturer, who was on a visit from Baramulla. ``First the Hizbul Mujahideen announced a ceasefire but withdrew it within days. The aim was to exhibit a softer image. Now the Government is playing the same game. if they are really sincere about bringing back peace, why don't they talk to Pakistan directly. Everybody knows the militant groups do what Pakistan wants them to do,'' he said.

Another villager, Mohammad Yousuf Mir, is bitter about what he termed asdouble standards of the Government. ``We don't need any ceasefire. Let them(Government) ask the security forces to avoid harassment of innocentcivilians,'' he said. ``In Kupwara, everything comes to a standstill after 6.30 pm. The army puts on road barricades and it is impossible to move. In Rafiabad villages, if you have a guest, you have to register him with the local camp and even villagers have to go as Road Opening Parties to make sure there is no mine planted on the roads.''