NEW DELHI: The rapidly deteriorating situation in J&K forced the government to get the Army march through Srinagar as a deterrent against mobs running riot on the streets in the towns across the Valley.
This was the first time in over a decade's time that Army had been called out to help stem violence, and the decision, coming against the background of Centre's painstaking effort to show the return of normalcy to the border state, fully brought out the anxiety of authorities in Delhi and Srinagar to the sharp turn of events.
The government's growing concern found expression in Congress's accusation that Pakistan was behind the trouble.
Army is being kept on stand-by near population centres as a message to the trouble mongers who, Centre suspects, are working to a plan to reverse the gains - as reflected in the conduct of two successful elections, success against terrorists, diminished support for secessionists and revival of tourism - made over past few years.
The Centre has been wary of deploying the Army in the valley despite the state government wanting it. The Centre's wariness was on account of the fear of walking into what it considers to be a trap being laid by those inciting violence in the state just when it had appeared to be on the mend. The troops who staged a show of strength - a flag march of sorts - were back to their respective locations within hours. But the sight of the men in olives on the streets of Srinagar revived memories of the troubled eighties when Army had to be deployed to fend off the secessionists.
A day after mob violence and the resultant police firing claimed three more lives in the trouble-torn Kashmir valley, a worried Cabinet Committee on Security - the government's apex body on security matters - backed "maximum crackdown" on the trouble makers. The CCS, which met at a short notice, also decided to send Union home secretary G K Pillai to take stock of the situation and advise the state government which had looked clueless in the face of spiralling violence.
CCS identified the failure of the state government to enforce curfews it declared as a serious concern. "Curfews will be fully enforced till normalcy is restored and the violators would be put behind bars," said a senior official. The Centre is particularly apprehensive of what may unroll on Friday when thousands congregate in Srinagar and urban centres for prayers. J&K has a history of prayer gatherings being commandeered by rabble rousers, and the use of loudspeakers in mosques on Tuesday to stoke passions and mobilize crowds against security forces has raised fears of the tactic being used again.
The cabinet panel, however, also underlined the need for tact so that security forces don't end up playing into the hands of agent provocateurs. It felt that the J&K police should lead the effort to stop violence which has caused over a dozen civilian deaths in the past four weeks, and should be extended full assistance.
The Army has been instructed to avoid confrontation with crowds. "The Army will not be used for crowd control and would, in fact, avoid direct confrontation with crowds," said a senior official.
The effort to lower the profile of the Army and central forces seems to be aimed at frustrating those who have used the violence and the response of security forces - ham-handed and excessive in cases - to try to revive the campaign against "Indian occupation".
The CRPF has also been asked to observe "maximum restraint" and not resort to firing unless asked by the local magistrate. The paramilitary troops manning pickets erected to deal with terror threat and who are heavily armed have also been asked to avoid being baited by forces out to provoke the forces.
After the meeting of the CCS, Union home minister P Chidambaram summoned CRPF chief Vikram Srivastava to his North Block office and is learnt to have told him to strictly adhere to the do's and don'ts, which include restricting the role of the paramilitary force to assisting the local police.
Srivastava is believed to have been asked to present a daily report to the home minister till normalcy is restored in the Valley.
Besides Chidambaram, defence minister A K Antony, cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekar, home secretary Pillai and defence secretary Pradeep Kumar attended the meeting.
