As the unrest in the Valley refuses to die down, Border Security Force (BSF) has returned to Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, after 11 years, to supplement the government’s effort to contain the situation.
On Monday, a column of the BSF troopers was seen deployed in curfew-bound Srinagar’s Lal Chowk neighbourhood. They had mounted their weapons and taken up positions in the street corners and footpaths and more were standing guard along the nearby Residency Road. The men from J&K police and the CRPF in riot gear were patrolling the otherwise deserted streets.
BSF troopers were deployed in Srinagar and other areas of the State towards the end of 1989 when the Kashmiri separatist campaign turned violent with hundreds of local youth taking to the gun. However, it started its phase-out from the Valley in November 2003 and was replaced by the CRPF first in Srinagar where its eight battalions were deployed then. The pullout started after the government, in the backdrop of the reports from two separate committees on the initial fiasco on the Kargil front, felt that this additional burden was leading to a dilution of the BSF’s mandate and degrading its ability to perform its primary role of guarding the country’s borders. In 2005, the government decided to implement recommendations to restrict each security agency to its mandate and soon the BSF was completely withdrawn from counterinsurgency duties and diverted back to guard the India-Pakistan border.
Bringing it back to Srinagar only points to the gravity which the prevailing situation in the Valley is being seen with by the authorities. The BSF was deployed in Srinagar as tensions were running very high in the aftermath of the killing of a local youth Irfan Ahmed Wani. He was hit by a teargas shell in the chest during a protest in City’s Nowhatta area late Sunday evening and soon died in hospital. While curfew was being enforced in old Srinagar and some other towns of the Valley, restrictions under Section 144CrPC continued to throw life completely out of gear elsewhere. Reports pouring in Srinagar said protests and clashes between “pro-freedom” crowds and security forces took place at various places including Sopore, Bandipore, Shopian and Aishmuqam.
A statement issued by the police, however, said that curfew was relaxed in the jurisdiction of police stations of uptown in Srinagar including Ram Munshi Bagh, Kothi Bagh, Raj Bagh, Sadder, Nowgam, Shaheed Gunj, Karan Nagar, Shergarhi and Parimpora from 9 am to 5 pm. “Curfew was also relaxed in Soura, Lal Bazar and Nigeen police stations’ jurisdiction. During the relaxation hours no untoward incident was reported, markets remained open and traffic was normal on roads,” the statement added. However, the locals said that no announcement about curfew relaxations were made and termed the claim that “markets remained open and traffic was normal on roads” as a “white lie”.
The police also said that the situation remained across the Valley “peaceful” yet acknowledged that stone pelting incidents occurred at Hyderpora in Budgam, Salli in Anantnag, Wathu and Gonapora in Shopian and Gulabad, Sopore in Baramulla districts.
“The situation across the Kashmir Valley remained under control and no other untoward incident was reported. The movement of traffic on (Srinagar-Jammu) national highway and other roads remained normal,” the statement concluded. Reports received here said that the J&K police and Army together foiled a ‘freedom rally’ at Ganawpora in Shopian whereas local Sikhs joined a protest demonstration at Aishmuqam in Anantnmag district after alleging that the security forces desecrated the local Gurduwara where a “freedom conference” being to be held. At Ganawpora, about 20 protsters were injured, reports said. In northern district of Bandipore, locals took out a tractor-trolley procession through Aloosa-Ashtengo villages to demand “aazadi”. A report from eastern Kishtwar said that after launching a massive crackdown against the government employees who participated in protests following the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahedin commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani on July 8 the police has booked two local Imams and some other residents for sedition and breaching peace. They and also a Hurriyat Conference activist have been named in two FIR’s registered at police station Kishtwar on the basis of a report on the protests submitted by a duty magistrate to the government earlier. These FIRs have been registered under J&K’s Ranbir Penal Code Sections 157 and 158 (unlawful assembly and rioting) Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 124 A (sedition) and 153 A (promoting religious enmity) against the Imams of the town’s Umar Moalla Masjid and Bunastan Masjid and other accused.
