The abduction and killing of three policemen in south Kashmir’s Shopian early on Friday have vitiated the already tense atmosphere for the upcoming municipal and panchayat elections in the state.
The killings have prompted a double impact: a wave of fear among local special police officers (SPOs), many of whom took to social media to distance themselves from the police department, and triggered more worry among people who have been associated with the local bodies.
“With each passing day, the atmosphere is turning scary. The incidents of violence are continuing, which is really a matter of concern for us,” said Shafiq Mir, president of All J&K Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), an organisation of former panchayat members of the state.
The AJKPC had earlier announced that its members would contest the rural bodies’ polls to be held in November and December amid calls from militants and separatists to boycott the elections.
SPOs Nissar Ahmad, Firdous Ahmad Kuchay and Kuldeep Singh were killed after suspected militants barged into their homes in Shopian and abducted them early on Friday. Hours later, their bodies were recovered nearby.
The polls for 72 municipal committees, six municipal councils and two municipal corporations will start from October 8 while elections to 35,096 panch constituencies will be held in nine phases from November 17. In the last four days, the response to calls to file nomination for the municipal polls has been very poor.
An official of the urban local bodies said the enthusiasm among people for filing nomination for the municipal polls has been missing. “The emerging situation has put an effect on the overall election process and the latest killings of policemen will obviously have an impact. From the government side, preparations are on in full swing,” he said.
The state’s two major political parties, National Conference and Peoples’ Democratic Party, have announced that they will not participate in the elections, citing an “atmosphere of fear” due to the “assault on the special constitutional position (Article 35 A)” of Jammu and Kashmir.
Last month, militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen issued a strong warning to those planning to participate in the polls, asking them to get shrouds along with elections forms. The separatists have asked people to boycott the polls, saying India projects elections in the state as a “referendum in its favour.”
J&K chief election officer Shaleen Kabra said the subdued response to filing nomination was a “usual process”. “In every election, the process starts up slowly. We expect people will participate in these elections as these are meant for local issues. Not only the candidates, but we expect people to come out to vote,” Kabra said.
Muscular policy not working: Mehbooba
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti said on Friday that she was aghast over the killing of three policemen, adding that the central government’s muscular policy was not working in Kashmir.
Mehbooba said condemnations will bring no solace to the families of the three policemen who were abducted and killed in Shopian. “Three more policemen have lost their lives to militant bullets. Outrage, shock & condemnation will be expressed by all of us on expected lines. Unfortunately, it brings no solace to the families of the victims,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Clearly, with the rise in kidnapping of police personnel and their families, the Centre’s muscular policy is not working at all. Dialogue, the only way forward, seems to be a distant dream for now,” she said.
The PDP-BJP coalition government was ruling the state till the latter parted away and the state came under governor’s rule in June.
On Thursday, Mehbooba had stressed on the need for dialogue when news percolated that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had written a letter to his Indian counterpart. The meeting was called off on Friday by India with a foreign ministry spokesperson citing the abduction and killing of the policemen in south Kashmir on Friday as the reason.
Mehbooba termed the development as ‘bad news’. “Calling off meeting between India & Pak’s FMs is bad news for J&K. Both countries owe it to people of state & country to carry on dialogue rather than talking through media.
First Published: Sep 22, 2018 07:11 IST
Source: HindustanTimes