The government continues to grope in the dark while looking for an initiative, which would end the three month cycle of violence that has claimed 69 lives and disturbed the peace in Kashmir Valley.
A senior Union minister admitted that the government is nowhere near a solution saying, "It is a tough balancing act and the situation is sensitive in the Valley".
When asked whether the Cabinet Committee on Security, which is now likely to meet on Monday, would be able to come out with a package on Kashmir, he said it was a difficult job and that the CCS may widen the scope of its consultation to get more views on how best to handle the situation.
The CCS is likely to be held on Monday, as three of its members are away from the capital for the EID weekend. Pranab Mukherjee is in Kolkata, AK Antony in Kerala and SM Krishna in Bangalore.
Sources say that in the core committee held on Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Pranab to find a middle path to the crisis in Kashmir. The middle path is obviously a resolution of the positions taken by Antony and Chidambaram, but Pranab informed the Prime Minister that he was going to Kolkata for the weekend and would come back and discuss the issue.
It was emphasised that the government should not act in a hurry since the Kashmir issue was not born yesterday, nor could it be tackled in a day.
Sources say that according to the assessment of the government of India, they were not expecting violence on Eid but after that. The government assessment proved to be wrong with a senior leader pointing out that the violence on Saturday has made it even more difficult for the centre to remove the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in some districts as was being demanded by state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
A Union minister, who is well versed with Kashmir, has ruled out Omar's removal saying that to do that at this stage could only worsen the situation in the Valley and would not send a positive signal.
He said it was for the first time that young boys (under 20) had come out on the streets, changing the very dynamic of the Kashmir situation and it was these boys who were dying, leading to further alienation and anger amongst the people.
The government was hopeful of striking a deal with Geelani but the spurt of media reports detailing how he had surrendered before the Centre and shortchanged the Kashmiris had led to him reverting back to his hardline position, with sources saying that the media was also not playing a positive role but was prematurely highlighting issues leading to them being aborted.
With Violence rocking Srinagar on Eid, Omar has come out with a strong statement both against the Hurriyat and the Centre.
Accusing the Hurriyat of betraying his trust, he has reacted to the inability of the core committee to take a decision saying that half hearted decisions will not serve the purpose and that mere symbolic gestures would not achieve the purpose of bringing peace back to the Valley.
The government is planning to give compensation to the families of those who have died, but that say sources is a side gesture at a personal level with much more needed to be done at the political and security level.
Image: A Kashmiri protester throws a stone towards a policeman during a protest in Srinagar
Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters
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