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Defection of villagers is propaganda victory for Pakistan

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The crossing of nearly 300 Kashmiri villagers into Pakistan occupied Kashmir alleging brutalities by Indian security forces has provided Islamabad considerable propaganda material.

" The government is helpless as there was an intelligence failure. How such a large number of people crossed over is a mystery. It is a fact that Pakistan will use it for anti-Indian propaganda by featuring the villagers on Pakistan Television. The villagers invariably give exaggerated accounts of brutality," admitted a senior home ministry official.

Another official pointed out that incidents like these have been occurring periodically right from the early 1990s but successive central governments, whether of the Congress, the United Front or the ruling National Democratic Government, have been unable to prevent them.

While "exploitation " of such incidents by Pakistan is routine, the international fallout is far graver.

Such incidents provide grist for human rights organisations like Amnesty International which is overzealous in portraying the alleged enthusiasm of Indian security forces in tackling anti-national elements.

Army officials in South Block, however, fume at the "sheer one-sidedness " of the human rights groups' reports pertaining to activities of the Indian security forces in Kashmir.

" Why don't these human rights groups report how the Indian Army suffers cowardly attacks by foreign militants in Kashmir? They are only interested in concocted details provided by villagers in border areas. The army has been maintaining commendable restraint during combing operations in border villages but there is no question of laxity when we flush out militants," an official in the valley told rediff.com.

He, however, indicated that the army would do its job without bothering about what human rights organisations were reporting.

He also claimed that many army personnel had been brutally killed by militants and that " they can expect little mercy once apprehended."

Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Jagdish Prasad Mathur said he could not comment on the issue. He said Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence may have exploited the villagers' " religious affinity".

Major General (retd) Afsir Karim underscored that "terrorism is considered essential to coerce the passive Kashmiri population to rise in revolt against Indian security forces." He pointed out that the ISI has been trying to inject radical Islam among the Kashmiris and small groups like Allah Tigers and Ul-Umar were terrorising villagers.

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