A day after suggesting that “terrorists have to be neutralised through terrorists only,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday amid criticism from various political quarters.
Mr. Parrikar is on a two-day official visit to Army formations in the State and to interact with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Governor N.N. Vohra.
“Looks like Mufti Sayeed is reviving and empowering the Ikhwanis [former counter-insurgents who worked under the aegis of the Army and the government]. That’s the only way to carry out ‘terrorists killing terrorists’ policy of the Defence Ministry,” said former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Mr. Parrikar spoke about “terrorists neutralising terrorists” in New Delhi on Thursday. “ Kaante se kaanta nikaalte hain [we have to use a thorn to take out a thorn]. We have to neutralise terrorists through terrorists only,” the Minister had said.
The remarks sparked criticism across the political landscape in Kashmir, with the Congress calling his statement a “sinister plan to cause terrible bloodshed in Kashmir.”
“They [BJP] don’t know the ground realities in Kashmir and they are calling for such things that will cause a terrible bloodshed here,” State Congress vice-president Ghulam Nabi Monga told The Hindu .
PDP, the BJP’s coalition partner in J&K, too distanced itself from the Minister’s comment. A senior Minister called it “a careless and ignorant statement.”
