JK Government has started the process of an independent inquiry into the recent civilian killings in Valley by appointing a commission of inquiry to look into the circumstances which led to these deaths and pin the blame. The decision was taken by the state cabinet which met here under the chairmanship of chief minister Omar Abdullah. The commission will be headed by a retired justice Bashir-ud Din with retired Justice Y P Nargotra as a member to inquire into all the 17 incidents in Kashmir division in which killings took place in police and paramilitary  action against the protesters. The commission will file its report within three months. The demand for such a commission was made in the All Party Meet held recently in Srinagar to deliberate on the ongoing crisis in the Valley.  The cabinet also set up a committee to review the Public Safety Act invoked on various political prisoners. Their PSA would be reviewed on a case to case basis.  Besides, among other important decisions, cabinet has also approved ex-gratia relief to the families of those killed during the current unrest. Their next of kins will be given an ex-gratia relief of Rs one lakh and a government job or a sum of Rupees five lakh.  There is a rider though. The deceased civilian should not be found “directly or indirectly involved in actual violence or instigation thereof”. A committee comprising the Deputy Commissioner and the District Superintendent of Police of the concerned district shall ascertain and certify the non involvement of the deceased civilian and his living next of kin in actual violence or instigation thereof.  All these steps are in the right direction and could, if carried through with speed and fairness help reduce some anger among people. The appointment of an independent commission to probe the killings was long overdue. However  this commission will really need to deliver and deliver transparently for it to serve any consequential purpose. There have been scores of such inquiries in Valley over the years whose outcome is either pending or has attracted little follow-up action. And over the years, this has been the predominant source of trust-deficit between the successive state governments and the people in Valley. Time has come that the state government  takes seriously the job of winning the confidence of the people and appears championing their cause. But this is a test that will not be easy to pass. So far, the record of all the previous governments has been abysmal. There is hardly a case where probes have ended to the satisfaction of the people or where the culprits have been adequately punished. True, it is also difficult to completely convince the people. More so, when the anger on the street is not about the sanctity of official probes but about the very nature of the relationship between Kashmir and the rest of India. There is a fundamental crisis of credibility about the operation of the governing structures in the Valley whose roots lie in the troubled history of this place. And this distrust won’t go away altogether if probes come to be conducted in a fair manner.
However, even then such an effort by the government is worth being made. This would atleast dent – albeit feebly - the absolute sense of distrust that prevails among people. Would now government finally step up and do what people would desire it to do – fast track the inquiry, pin the blame and punish the guilty.
Of course, in doing so, it will be face to face with a long track record of the successive governments who have hardly acquitted themselves well in similar situations. But this will be all the more reason for the government to act differently this time and be seen to side with people. Besides, the situation that the government is encountering now is also extraordinary. Since June 11 there have been 17 civilian killings – including a 9 year old boy and 25 year old woman - in police and paramilitary action. These deaths have occurred in South, central and North Kashmir during the ongoing unprecedented period of turmoil. The standing of the government – even otherwise found woefully wanting in its handling of the situation - is in tatters. A clean probe and punishment will certainly help salvage some of its credibility and respect in public eye.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST