JAMMU: Has the Afghan national, *Major’ Mast Gul, who led a group of militants in capturing the historic ChrarcSharief shrine and its adjoining localities since December last, escaped the security cordon?
This question has generated a debate not only in the Kashmir valley but in the rest of the world too, this is because Mast Gul’s escape to safely indicate a major failure on the part of the security forces.
Mast Gul’s escape theory is being substantiated by an audiocassette in which his recorded voice says that he has managed to give the slip to the security forces and is hiding at an unidentified place In fact, since May 11 his escape story has been doing the rounds in Kashmir. Initially, it was given out that he was wounded in an encounter with the troops and was hiding inside the town. Later, it was said that he had gone into hiding in a village in Bandipora. However a reliable source said that Gul had found a safe shelter in Anantnag town. Latest reports now suggest that he may be in Srinagar.
Reports suggest that those who have worked with him have seen hirn and talked to him at two places while he ‘was coming out of the besieged town of ChrareSharief.
Whether Mast Gul is in the Pubwama or Srinagar is not important whether he is wounded or not is also not important! What is important that he has escaped, how could the security forces have claimed two months ago that all incoming and outgoing routes to the town had been sealed by the troops?
There are many who say that the statement of Mast Gul may have been recorded at Chrar itself. If this is so, the question arises as to how the Castile was allowed to be smuggled out of the town? And if it has been smuggled out, this should have been done by a close associate of Mast Gul. Reports say on the night of May 10, Reports say on the night of May 10, the shrine from destruction. However, the security forces have failed on both fronts. In fact, the first militant to escape the security cordon was Shahbaz Khan who crawled out of the town along with two injured militants on May 1.
What has prompted poetic to accept Mast Gul’s escape story is the government lie on the killing of Zeffar Kawa of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Prior to the Chrar imbroglio, Zaffar Kawa had been declared killed twice, once during an encounter with the security forces and on the second occasion in intergroup clashes. The third time he was declared dead during an encounter between the Army and holdup militants in Chrar, Later, Hizbul Mujahideen made a counter claim that Kawa was safe and was with his party colleagues.
The forces have claimed that more than 32militantshavebeen killed in Chrar during the past five days but so far only 14 bodies have been handed over to the police. The forces claim that no civilian was killed but latest reports say that two aged males and woman are among those killed.
Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed that its 18 activist have succeeded in coming out of the besieged town and Harkatul Ansarhas said 18 of its 24 militants have fled to safety. It is therefore, not only Mast Gul but many others, including Saiful Islam, who has escaped the security cordon in Chrar. When activists are like Saiful Islam and others could escape it should not have been difficult for Mast Gul, who was surrounded by at least 10 gunmen, to come out of the town. A source in the defense services said that Mast Gul’s escape was being dramatized to confuse the troops. He suspected that Mast Gul and his men may be inside the town and stories of his escape may be aimed at the troops abandoning the search operations.
Initial reports by the government had said between 100 and 200 militants were holed up inside the town If it was so, where are the rest of the militants, So far not more than 30 have been accounted for.
The forces encouraged an exodus of civilians from the town with the aim of isolating the holed up militants but this 100 had no major success, The forces had thought that ‘once the civilians were out of the town, soldiers could be sent inside and engage the militants in armed duels.
As there were no clear instructions from the top Army brass and civilian authorities, the soldiers could do nothing but wait.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 19, 1995
