Voice of moderation silenced

The dastardly killing of Sujat Bukhari, the editor of the English daily Rising Kashmir is a big blow to the peace process in the Valley. There has been an all-round condemnation of the killing of Sujat Bukhari. The militants are always on to derail any move of peace. The killing of the senior journalist clearly reflects anyone who shows sanity may be killed by the militants in the Valley. What is the intelligence agency doing in the state when the murder of this magnitude takes place? This also shows the laxity in security on the part of the state govt. The brutal murder Sujat Bukhari must be thoroughly probed and a ceasefire must not be extended any more at any cost. Sujat's death sends signal among the army jawans to be prepared to face any threat. The time has come in Jammu and Kashmir to act against the militancy decisively. The entire Valley is stunned at his death. First, it is nothing but the sheer foolishness and shortsightedness that the Centre experimented the move in regard to Jammu and Kashmir which had already been done in the past and proved to be a total failure. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had also announced the unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir during the holy month of Ramazan about 15 years back. But what result came out of it. There was a spurt in militant violence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must have kept in mind the decision of the previous govt. in this matter before giving nod to announce the unilateral ceasefire. Sujat Bukhari was the voice of moderation among the people of the trouble-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir. As he was fiercely independent in raising the voice on the ground, he had welcomed the govt.move of the unilateral ceasefire. He was killed brutally when the ceasefire was to end in only two days and a move was in place to extend it. It is not only he but also his Personal Security officer and a soldier was also killed. It is after almost a decade that the militants have opened fire on the journalist like Sujat Bukhari to silence the voice of peace and amity. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was the prime mover for the declaration of a ceasefire during Ramadan and the Amarnath Yatra. As PDP-BJP alliance government is there in Jammu and Kashmir, it was natural for the Modi govt. at the Centre to acquiesce to her demand of ceasefire. BJP and PSD are the two poles apart ideologically. One is the North Pole and the other is the South Pole. So, the question of meeting there in reality on the ground is out of the question. PDP is considered to be soft towards militant while the BJP is known for its hard-line against them. But when the politics is played in every area, anything can happen. It is the lust of power that pushed BJP to go into the lap of PDP. Every action of PDP clearly indicates to be guiding the BJP on the issue of Kashmir. It clearly appears that BJP is not ready to discuss the issue Kashmir seriously. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must take a decisive step in Jammu and Kashmir to break the backbone of terrorism.