That it is the Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who is asking India to reduce the presence of its security forces in Kashmir’s urban centres should be the last reason for rejecting the proposal. Any Indian citizen who travels to Srinagar knows that the in-your-face presence of the Indian security forces is deeply resented by the local population. If the Centre wants to win friends and influence public opinion in Jammu and Kashmir, redisposition of Indian security forces away from the cities would always present itself at the top of the list of things to do. The increasingly counterproductive patrolling of Srinagar and other cities, however, is a consequence of unending terrorism and violence sponsored by Pakistan. The establishment in Delhi would argue that India could not risk changing the nature of its security presence in Kashmir so long as cross-border terrorism continues. That Pakistan has done little to shut down the infrastructure of terrorism is not a charge that comes from Delhi alone. Recent media reports in Pakistan and the United States have provided damning evidence of terrorist training camps on Pakistani soil.Nevertheless, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should consider alternative approaches to maintaining security in the state. After all India owes it to itself to limit, both in time and space, extraordinary security measures that are often necessary for maintaining peace within the realm. Singh’s meetings with the Hurriyat, the first ever by an Indian prime minister, on Monday and his talks with Musharraf in New York later in the month provide an unprecedented opportunity to recast the internal dynamics in Kashmir.Singh should offer a simple deal to Musharraf and the Hurriyat — Delhi will cease fire within Jammu and Kashmir, if Islamabad and its insurgent friends in the state agree to end violence on their part. A ceasefire supported by Pakistan and the militant groups will make it different from a similar but short-lived experiment by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during 2000-’01. It will supplement the ceasefire on the dividing line between India and Pakistan in J&K, ease the daily life in the Valley, give Kashmiris a stake in the Indo-Pak peace process and create the right ambience for a negotiated settlement of the long-standing dispute. It is an opportunity that Singh should not lose.
