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| J&K spends Rs 560 cr on separatists in 5 yrs | | Separatists surviving, thriving at the cost of nation | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 8: "Enough is enough. Don't provide Kashmiri separatists security. Don't pay for their health maintenance. Book them under laws of sedition. Use the tax payers' money for the people's welfare. They have played havoc with the state and its people. They have disturbed the social, economic and political life. They are just a handful. Their place is jail". This is the general view of the well-meaning and concerned members of civil society in Jammu.
It is a fact that the Kashmiri separatists have been surviving and thriving at the cost of the Indian tax payers. For example, the Jammu & Kashmir Government reportedly spent "close to Rs 560 crore for the maintenance of Kashmiri separatist leaders in the past five years". It was revealed by officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). This huge amount was spent on their travel and accommodation in Kashmir, their elaborate security cover as well as travel out of the valley and stay in five-star hotels in New Delhi whenever they visited the national capital for talks with government officers and foreign dignitaries.
Sources within the J&K government, who are aware of this, had reportedly said that "close to 1,500 police officers have been deployed at the residences of these separatist leaders to act as their personal security officers (PSOs) and security officers". "This privilege has been extended even to other 'uncategorized political activists', who have a history of promoting separation of Kashmir from India," a report had revealed. As per officials, "the amount has been spent from the Security Related Expenditure (SRE), which is provided by the MHA to the state government". Since the inception of the SRE scheme in 1989, the Centre has released thousands of rupees.
A report also said: "Close to Rs 110 crore is spent on the personal safety, accommodation, flights etc., of the separatist leaders every year. This includes around Rs 5-6 crore for their five-star accommodation in New Delhi and for room rents in luxurious hotels in the valley that have been booked in their names for the past 5-6 years. Around 500 PSOs and 950 security guards from the J&K police are also deployed to protect approximately 600 separatist leaders and other private individuals from terrorist attacks. This information has been regularly shared with successive Central governments".
The same report further said: "Such measures are required to keep the separatists in good humour. This kid glove treatment of the separatists has been the practice for long and rather than blaming the state government, of all, the blame should be on the Union government".
According to a report, "some of the anti-nationals who enjoy this patronage include Hashim Qureshi, who hijacked an Indian Airlines aircraft in 1971 and took it to Pakistan; Salim Geelani; Zafar Akbar Bhat, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement; Shahid-ul-Islam; Mirwaiz Umar Farooq; Bilal Gani Lone; Aga Syed Hassan; Maulana Abbas Ansari; Mussadiq Adil; Abdul Gani Bhat; and Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, who is one of the strongest critics of the Indian government".
Report suggests that the Government of India has been spending crores of rupees on the anti-nationals in Kashmir despite official advice to the contrary. The report in this regard said: "Officials in the security establishment have criticised successive governments for giving undue importance to the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), which claims to be the representative of the Kashmiri voice. The APHC has a nuisance value at the most, which the separatist forces use to market the political body as the 'true voice' of the Kashmiris".
The view of the Jammu civil society that Kashmiri separatists have been surviving and thriving at the cost of the Indian tax payers should be viewed in this context. The government should realize that the separatists have little following on the ground. They have continuously given calls for poll boycott, but did that stop the common people from coming out to vote? At the most, they have a nuisance value, they can create noise and disrupt peace in the valley for a short period, but they cannot be treated as the voice of the Kashmiris. However, this is what successive governments have been doing. The UPA used to do it and now the NDA government is doing it, treating the separatists softly. |
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