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By Simon Denyer, Tuesday, December 6, 8:05 AM
SRINAGAR, India For more than a decade it was seen as one of the worlds most dangerous nuclear flashpoints, its Himalayan valleys flooded with hundreds of thousands of Indian troops battling a separatist, Islamist insurgency backed by neighboring Pakistan.
But with relations slowly improving between South Asias nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, the insurgency is slowly fading away. That has left many Kashmiris wondering why quite so many Indian troops are still here under laws that grant them vast powers.
With violence on the wane, Kashmirs Chief Minister Omar Abdullah says the mainly Muslim people of his state deserve to see a peace dividend, in the form of a partial, limited withdrawal of the rules that allow soldiers the right to shoot to kill, with virtual immunity from prosecution.
The request would cover only two districts where the Indian army does not even conduct operations. Casualty rates due to the militancy are half of what they were last year, and under 5 percent of what they were a decade ago, officials say.
But Indias leaders have rebuffed the Kashmiri ministers request, with the army and defense ministry insisting on maintaining broad powers.
It has left the 41-year-old Abdullah wondering whether the Indian government has the political will to achieve a lasting peace in Kashmir, where tens of thousands of people have died since 1989, and ultimately with Pakistan. The dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir lies at the heart of their long enmity and has fueled two of their three wars.
At some point in time we have to have the courage to take what appear to be risky decisions, with the belief that this is an important component of a peace process, Abdullah said.
If New Delhi cannot even agree to this, how are you going to resolve the overall Kashmir issue, that is going to require much tougher decisions? he asked.
The controversial law gives the army widespread power to search houses, arrest people without warrants and detain people without time limits. As a result of the impunity it grants, the armed forces routinely torture suspects, Human Rights Watch says, calling the law a a tool of state abuse, oppression and discrimination.
Indian soldiers have also been accused of killing innocent civilians in Kashmir while claiming they were militants, sometimes just to claim the monetary rewards that come with successful operations.
Although the army says every allegation is properly investigated, human rights groups say the law, known as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, is routinely used to block prosecutions.
Many Kashmiris have concluded that it is the Indian army, not their democratically elected leaders, who really run Kashmir.
All the time India says it wants to solve Kashmir politically, but in fact it wants to maintain the situation militarily, said religious and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The long rivalry over Kashmir has become a cancer that spreads instability throughout the region. Pakistan uses allegations of human rights abuses by Indian troops in Kashmir to help justify its claim to the territory.
Violence wanes in Kashmir, but India maintains tight military grip - The Washington Post
SRINAGAR, India For more than a decade it was seen as one of the worlds most dangerous nuclear flashpoints, its Himalayan valleys flooded with hundreds of thousands of Indian troops battling a separatist, Islamist insurgency backed by neighboring Pakistan.
But with relations slowly improving between South Asias nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, the insurgency is slowly fading away. That has left many Kashmiris wondering why quite so many Indian troops are still here under laws that grant them vast powers.
With violence on the wane, Kashmirs Chief Minister Omar Abdullah says the mainly Muslim people of his state deserve to see a peace dividend, in the form of a partial, limited withdrawal of the rules that allow soldiers the right to shoot to kill, with virtual immunity from prosecution.
The request would cover only two districts where the Indian army does not even conduct operations. Casualty rates due to the militancy are half of what they were last year, and under 5 percent of what they were a decade ago, officials say.
But Indias leaders have rebuffed the Kashmiri ministers request, with the army and defense ministry insisting on maintaining broad powers.
It has left the 41-year-old Abdullah wondering whether the Indian government has the political will to achieve a lasting peace in Kashmir, where tens of thousands of people have died since 1989, and ultimately with Pakistan. The dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir lies at the heart of their long enmity and has fueled two of their three wars.
At some point in time we have to have the courage to take what appear to be risky decisions, with the belief that this is an important component of a peace process, Abdullah said.
If New Delhi cannot even agree to this, how are you going to resolve the overall Kashmir issue, that is going to require much tougher decisions? he asked.
The controversial law gives the army widespread power to search houses, arrest people without warrants and detain people without time limits. As a result of the impunity it grants, the armed forces routinely torture suspects, Human Rights Watch says, calling the law a a tool of state abuse, oppression and discrimination.
Indian soldiers have also been accused of killing innocent civilians in Kashmir while claiming they were militants, sometimes just to claim the monetary rewards that come with successful operations.
Although the army says every allegation is properly investigated, human rights groups say the law, known as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, is routinely used to block prosecutions.
Many Kashmiris have concluded that it is the Indian army, not their democratically elected leaders, who really run Kashmir.
All the time India says it wants to solve Kashmir politically, but in fact it wants to maintain the situation militarily, said religious and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The long rivalry over Kashmir has become a cancer that spreads instability throughout the region. Pakistan uses allegations of human rights abuses by Indian troops in Kashmir to help justify its claim to the territory.
Violence wanes in Kashmir, but India maintains tight military grip - The Washington Post
