The recent Joint Statement issued after the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Melbourne indicates the grouping’s drive towards institutionalisation and coming close to achieving a concrete mandate for its existence.
The decline in terrorist incidents and reduction in infiltration from across the border is no doubt a positive development but this alone cannot guarantee peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Strengthening of democratic institutions at the grassroots level is also required.
Adil Rasheed replies: In recent times, the term ‘hybrid militant’ has been the subject of intense scrutiny and discussion. The term is used by the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police for youths who are not listed as militants in its records, but who carry out terrorist attacks and then keep living as regular civilians, without going underground.
The false compliance present within the radicalised individuals and convicted terrorist offenders pose a considerable threat to the society, following their release from de-radicalisation-based institutions.
The 2015 terrorist attacks in France have seriously tested the nation’s faith in liberal and secular values as well as its tolerance for Political Islam. Taking a hands-on approach to combat terrorism, France has initiated what is being described as the “biggest trial” in its modern history.
The attack on former Maldivian President and current Speaker of the Majlis, Mohammad Nasheed, on May 6, 2021 has brought to attention the country’s tenuous political stability, compounded by the problem of Islamist radicalisation.
In the aftermath of Samuel Paty’s beheading, France is taking measures that seek to reverse the processes through which individuals become ‘terrorists’. If successful, other countries could emulate such policy interventions in their own counter-radicalisation efforts.
Arpita Anant replies:It is important to first clarify the phrase “military attacks during peacetime” in the question. This phrase lends itself to multiple interpretations. However, in the context of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), the issue pertains to actions of the armed forces during the armed conflict. So, the reply that follows uses the latter phraseology.
Arpita Anant replies: At the United Nations (UN), discussions on the subject of terrorism that are in public domain take place mainly in the General Assembly and the Security Council. There are several discussions especially in the Security Council that take place behind closed doors. Discussions related to terrorism are held in the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly under the heading “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism”.
What pales the counter-terrorism regime is not that its procedures are cumbersome or that its working is not transparent, but that it only selectively raises the cost for those who inflict terror.
Emerging Contours of Security in Jammu and Kashmir
The decline in terrorist incidents and reduction in infiltration from across the border is no doubt a positive development but this alone cannot guarantee peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Strengthening of democratic institutions at the grassroots level is also required.