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Govt may give arms to Sikhs in J&K

Defence Minister George Fernandes will specifically instruct the unified command of the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir to leave nothing to chance in protecting the state's Sikh community whose threat of migration is exactly what the terrorists want, according to Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chamanlal Gupta.

Gupta, who on Friday attended a meeting summoned by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to upgrade the security measures for Sikhs in J&K and boost their employment avenues, told rediff.com that, "The government has decided to assure them (the Sikhs) that it will do everything to ensure that they remain in the state. It is willing to sympathetically consider the community's demands for arms to defend themselves."

J&K Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah too confirmed that with the terrorists getting bolder and resorting to "cowardly attacks" on innocent people, the demand of some Sikhs in Jammu for arms to protect themselves "is not without reason. We understand their point of view."

The unified command in J&K headed by a Lieutenant-General of the army and including the Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force and the Rashtriya Rifles (comprising crack commandos of the army) has been instructed by Vajpayee to re-orient its strategy in the wake of the increasing attacks on innocent civilians.

" Georgesahib has gone to Srinagar and Jammu to convey the prime minister's instruction to the unified command. It means that the security forces will now reformulate their strategy to minimise the threat to the civilian population," Gupta said.

A senior official of the Kashmir division in the ministry of home affairs pointed out that its joint secretary had apprised Union Home Minister Lal Kishechand Advani of the modus operandi of the militants. The recent attack on the Sikhs in Jammu had brought out several crucial factors which had forced the government to change its tactics in dealing with the militants, he contended.

He revealed that the Vajpayee government had made up its mind to give arms to Sikhs in J&K like in Doda and Kishtwar in Jammu. After the government had given arms to residents there, they had effectively tackled the militants whose attacks had significantly subsided, the official said.

Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Friday pointed out that "if Sikhs are going to be killed, they would rather go down fighting. This is what they told me when I visited Jammu and I have recommended that the government should issue arms to the community in J&K."

" Doctorsahib (Farooq Abdullah) has assured me that he will leave no stone unturned in protecting the Sikhs. I am all for giiving them arms. I think the government will not object to the formation of village defence committees," he contended.

"Pakistan is grossly mistaken if it thinks that its noises for a dialogue with India will be heard as it continues encouraging the militants to attack innocent Kahsmiris. Like its predecessors, the government in Islamabad has blood on its hands," Dhindsa pointed out.

He indicated that the prime minister was monitoring the Kashmir situation on a "regular basis" and that he would summon "frequent meetings" to ascertain the upgradation of the central government's measures to protect the Sikhs in J&K and boost their employment avenues.

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