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Govt divided over J&K ceasefire

The government top brass is deeply divided over the Kashmir cease-fire, which is facing a relentless onslaught from militant groups.

According to some senior officials who are privy to top-level confabulations, Union Home Minister L K Advani and Union Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh have taken drastically opposite stands on the cease-fire. Singh's stand, advocating bilateral talks and a cease-fire extension, is being endorsed by the Prime Minister's Office.

Advani's who is demanding withdrawal of the cease-fire and taking on the militants has been isolated, as the army too has joined the chorus for an extension of the cease-fire.

The home minister favours withdrawal of the cease-fire, during which casualties among civilians and paramilitary personnel have been quite heavy. Advani has been arguing that the government should not continue with the cease-fire when its security personnel are being brutally murdered by 'hired mercenaries'.

In fact, this argument of Advani is before the prime minister, who seems not to completely agree with him. Sources said Vajpayee and his advisors, including Brajesh Mishra, are favouring Singh's advocacy that a bilateral effort should be in place to solve the Kashmir dispute. It is another matter that Mishra and the foreign minister are continuously trying to score points against each other.

Sources point out that Advani had expressed reservations when Vajpayee mooted a cease-fire before Ramzan. He was citing the experience during the Hizbul Mujahideen-sponsored cease-fire, when there were several bloody attacks on security personnel.

While espousing the Centre's liberal line in public, Advani is increasingly hardening his stand on Kashmir, as the ground realities do not match the optimism of the prime minister or foreign minister.

Paramilitary forces, which report to Advani, have been at the receiving end of militant attacks, mainly by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Noticeably, the army has recorded much fewer casualties since the cease-fire began.

The prime minister, foreign minister and Defence Ministry favour an extension of the cease-fire. The army has been strongly advocating an extension fire, boosting Singh's call for bilateral talks.

Singh is ready and interested in travelling to Pakistan to hold talks with General Pervez Musharraf, and side-stepping the All Party Hurriyat Conference. His argument is that by allowing the Hurriyat to go to Pakistan, India is legitimising the role of Pakistan in the Kashmir dispute. So when the government is ready to admit that Pakistan has a role to play in Kashmir, why not talk to it directly, Singh asks.

The army has been trying to convince anyone ready to listen that the cease-fire is the best thing to happen in Kashmir for long. It is for the first time since the early 80s, when the Siachen crisis began, that there has been no firing along the Line of Control and Siachen. "We could say not even a single round has been fired since the cease-fire started," a senior army official pointed out.

The army says as the guns have fallen silent along the LoC, it would slowly extend to the interiors and militancy will also slowly fade away. "It is a gradual process," he said.

They also point out that army and civilian casualties are lower now. Earlier, around 10 army personnel used to die every two months; now it is lower.

The army also points out that local terrorists - who constitute almost the entire Hizbul Mujahideen and some other smaller groups -- do not want to fight.

The cease-fire period is the best time to talk to local militants, the army argues.

The complete coverage: The ceasefire in J&K

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