The situation has come to such a pass that faced with the grim situation of an uninterrupted cycle of violence with every passing day, the Centre may consider the option of suspending the state assembly. A suggestion to this effect is understood to have been made by Governor N N Vohra in his report to the Union Home Ministry.
Additional forces
On the streets, protesters defied curfew, coming out in droves to defy the security forces as the Centre, on a request from a beleaguered chief minister Omar Abdullah, decided to despatch an additional 2,000 security men to bolster the paramilitary presence in Srinagar and other towns where violent demonstrations have spread like wildfire.
Stone-pelting mobs defied curfew restrictions at many places in Srinagar, Budgam, Bandipora and Baramulla in North Kashmir and Awantipora and Kulgam in South Kashmir and attacked police parties.
In Frisal Sherpora, Kulgam, a police post and the houses of a policeman and Special Police Official (SPO) were set on fire by rampaging mobs. In Budgam, the Soibugh police post was set ablaze.
Nearly half a dozen police stations were attacked by mobs before the police fired on them, causing the deaths of four persons. At least 20 policemen were injured in Tuesday’s incidents. A major development of the day was the re-arrest of hardliner separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, whose release on Monday created hopes of a possible thaw. Geelani’s demand for lifting of curfew was not acceded to by the state government.
There were reports that shoot-at-sight orders were issued in curfew-bound Srinagar to control the crowds defying security restrictions. While the state government denied these reports, the police said announcements were being made on loudspeakers asking people to remain indoors and not violate curfew failing which they would be dealt with severely.
Abdullah had on Monday sent a tough message to protesters indulging in the vicious cycle of violence, warning that consequences will be “tragic and serious” if curfew regulations were violated.
The events that have unfolded in the Valley over the past seven weeks have followed a script that has been played out in the past, especially in the nineties when street violence and defiance of the administration would occur in the backdrop of bombings and attacks by terrorists from across the border and the consequent retaliation by the forces.
The current surge in violence is different in that there have been no terrorist attacks in Srinagar or elsewhere in the Valley where the protests have assumed a more political character with much of the anger directed against Abdullah, leading analysts to believe that other political forces, including Mehboob Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party, might be behind the current spate of violent protests.
However, it is surprisingly clear that although the Congress and Abdullah’s National Conference are partners in the government in Jammu and Kashmir, there was no input at the political level that could have helped the Centre assess the emerging situation and take appropriate decisions. What has also raised eyebrows is how the internal intelligence establishment could not gauge the prevailing mood that has caught the both the Centre and the state government by surprise.
Hospitals here are under tremendous pressure to handle an increasing number of injured people. Abdul Jabbar, an employee of SMSH hospital here said he was witnessing such a grim situation for the first time after the early nineties.