Beyond Jammu Encounters, It Is Mainstream Parties VS DGP In The Calm Valley

With the escalating militancy in the Jammu region, a contentious narrative has surfaced in Kashmir. Director General of J&K Police RR Swain is being accused of venturing into political territory by accusing mainstream political parties of being complicit in the separatist ecosystem.

As the DGP stated Pakistan has successfully infiltrated key sectors of civil society through these mainstream or regional political entities in the valley, the language and accusations have been regarded as severe by political parties, prompting former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to call for action against the police chief.

The controversy has popped up at a time when the militancy in Jammu is back after two decades of the peace. It began in Poonch in 2021 and spread to Rajouri and then to Reasi, Doda, and Kathua. This whole area is part of a continuous mountain range from Kathua to Kashmir. While experts describe opening Jammu front when the Valley is appearing calm as a deliberate shift from militant side and a dangerous strategy, political parties accuse the Jammu and Kashmir police chief of doing less to counter militancy and doing more of politics.

On July 16, a day after DGP’s statement, Mehbooba Mufti responded saying: "Who is responsible for Jammu? If you say militancy has ended, then what is happening in Jammu?".

"Why are so many people dying in Jammu? I think the Union Home Minister and Union Defence Minister should take notice of it."

"When Kashmir was hit by violence, Jammu remained free from such violence. The government should have acted by now. For the past 32 months in Jammu, almost 50 soldiers have lost their lives with no one held accountable."

She accused the DGP of selectively targeting government employees and running a party agenda. She said in the past talks were held between separatists and the BJP government led by LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, thus trying to reiterate that the times the DGP was talking about were different than the current times.

"For six years, what have you done instead of blaming the mainstream?" Mehbooba said.

"Either separatists are dead or in jail. You have started a war with the people of Kashmir, whether it is the Bar Association or journalists. You are fighting with your own people."

Addressing students in Jammu, Swain on July 15 said Pakistan successfully infiltrated all important aspects of civil society, thanks to so-called mainstream or regional politics in the valley.

“There is ample evidence to show that many had owned the art of running with the hare and hunting with the hound, which left both the common man and the security bewildered, frightened, and confused. Visiting the homes of killed terrorists and expressing sympathy in public was normal. While the elimination of new recruits in terrorism was allowed and tacitly encouraged, those who facilitated recruitment and arranged finances were never investigated,” he said.

The DGP had said SP rank officers were arrested and put in jails alongside terrorists, for crimes they had never committed. “The drowning of two girls in 2014 was allowed to be hijacked by narrative terrorism who held the valley at ransom, hartals, and rioting for many weeks. A very detailed investigation by the CBI and verified by the AIIMS forensics proved it was an accident. Things had come to such a pass that the so-called mainstream political parties had started cultivating leaders of terror networks and sometimes directly to further their electoral prospects,” the DGP had said.

After Mehbooba, other parties joined in the wider debate. People's Conference chairman Sajad Lone called DGP’s statement inappropriate and intolerable in any functioning democracy.

"The comments made by the DG J&K Police pertaining to mainstream parties are inappropriate, to say the least." Lone criticised the DGP's remarks, stating that even in a basic, rudimentary functioning democracy, such utterances by a serving police officer would not have been tolerated. "Such statements by serving officers are an indication of the disdain and contempt for anything remotely pertaining to democracy. Such sad state of affairs and even sadder is the fact that the scriptwriters of this sad state of affairs take pride in having brought J&K to this level," Lone said.

Hours after Mehbooba’s statement, the Apni Party president, Altaf Bukhari jumped into the wider debate accusing the DGP of talking more about politics rather than addressing security issues. He says the J&K police chief should focus on controlling the escalating security situation in Jammu rather than shifting responsibility to the politicians.

While National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah refused to describe the DGP as working on “communal lines”, he insisted that the police chief has joined politics. “He has given a political speech. He should leave politics to politicians and do his job like improving the situation in Jammu. We want to hear from DGP what they are doing and how to stop militancy in Jammu,” Omar said.

As the debate within mainstream discourse was escalating, the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Law and Order Vijay Kumar on Wednesday said that the Jammu and Kashmir Police is an impartial and apolitical force. Reacting to the statement of the DGP, Kumar said that the J&K police is a professional and apolitical force, and works impartially.