SRINAGAR – India announced Wednesday that its troops will haltcounterinsurgency operations in disputed Kashmir during the month ofRamadan, its first such declaration in 18 years. A prominent rebel group,Lashkar-e-Taiba, rejected the offer, calling it a “drama,” according to thenewspaper Greater Kashmir.
The last cease-fire in counterinsurgency operations declared by India forRamadan was in 2000. India and Pakistan declared a cease-fire between theirforces in 2003, but India has continued to battle rebels seeking an end toIndian control.
India’s home ministry said in a series of tweets that the decision was madeso Muslims could observe the holy month “in a peaceful environment.”Another tweet said Indian troops “reserve the right to retaliate ifattacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people.”
The announcement came a week after all pro-India political parties inKashmir, including the ruling People’s Democratic Party which vaulted topower by forming an alliance with the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP), urged the Indian government to cease counterinsurgencyoperations during Ramadan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, India’s ruling party, opposed the move in themeeting. This year, fasting begins Thursday or Friday in Kashmir. The topelected official of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Chief Minister MehboobaMufti, hailed the Ramadan cease-fire and thanked India’s prime minister andhome minister “for their personal intervention.”
‘Disgrace to sacrifice’
Lashkar-e-Taiba said a cease-fire was “no option, and no thought can begiven on such compromise.” “We deem it a sin and disgrace to the sacrificesput up in the freedom struggle,” said the group, which India accuses oflaunching attacks in the city of Mumbai in 2008 that killed at least 166people. The group said they favor negotiations, “but not in the presence ofarmed forces in the region.”
Reactions from Kashmir residents were mixed. “India should take it furtherby reaching out to resistance leaders as well as Pakistan for the finalsettlement of Kashmir,” said Mohammed Akbar, a shopkeeper. Sajjad Ahmed, aschoolteacher, expressed doubt.
“What’s there to cheer if they (the rebels) don’t reciprocate?” Ahmed said.“We’ve seen in the past how such declarations have ended up in more chaosand more attrition. We’re skeptical by experience.”
In recent years, there have been renewed rebel attacks and public protestsagainst Indian rule as a new generation of Kashmiri rebels, especially inthe southern parts of the region, revive the militancy and challenge NewDelhi’s rule with guns and use of social media.
Indian authorities have been increasingly frustrated by the resistanceshown by Kashmiri residents. Many Kashmiris, in open solidarity withmilitants, have attempted to help trapped rebels escape during militarycounterinsurgency operations by throwing stones at troops, who oftenretaliate with gunfire, causing civilian fatalities. Last year, at least 29civilians were killed and hundreds wounded during such clashes.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuingIndian military crackdown.