NEW DELHI: The Foreign militants of AlFaran have reportedly handed cover the four western hostages to their local associates and have quietly slipped away.
North Block sources said this development is the result of negotiations between the Western diplomats in Srinagar, whose citizens have been held hostage for the past three and a half months, and intermediaries of AlFaran, he Western diplomat the Americans, have taken this step because of their disgust with the State Administration’s ineptitude in the episode.
North Block sources said the diplomats have agreed to quietly pay ransom for the release of their citizens, ‘The diplomats are apparently working towards a low profile and ant climatic denouncement to the hostage drama.
The outcome that the diploma hoping for is one where the money quietly paid, the militants silently fade away and the foreigners are suddenly found one day, hanging around Pahalgam. This way, the Americans get their citizen back; Pakistan does not get fingered for controlling terrorism, and the Government of India continues as before, none the wiser. North Block sources said the Westerners took this step because ever since AlFaran broke off contact with the State Government negotiators nearly a month back, the Indian authorities have not been able to make any headway in securing the release of the foreigners. AlFaranhad broken off contact with senior J&K State police officials after their negotiations for the release of the foreigners for a Rs 2crore ransom was publicized. The militants, of whom no one had ever heard before the crisis, felt the publicity was negative “The Western diplomats, noting the Government’s complete confusion and paralysis on the matter, apparently decaled to take things into their ‘own hands. Although the envoys agreed with the Government’s stand that no jailed militants will be released in exchange for the freedom of the foreigners, they were seemingly miffed with the authorities’ lackadaisical attitude, stemming from the Government’s belief that it is in a win situation (if hostages are released, it is to India’s credit; if they die, Pakistan and the militants will be discredited).
The militants have been amenable to the Westerners overtures, mainly because of the increasingly cold weather. Keeping hostages at high alutudes of the mountains ringing the Valley, where temperatures have already dropped subzero, is apparently a taxing effort.
Furthermore, their act of terrorism is no longer making headlines; in fact, it is not getting any publicity at all. Keeping the hostages in inclement weather is thus not worth the trouble for the militants.
For the militants, though they have not achieved their objective of securing the release of their incarcerated colleagues, they do not come out of the episode empty-handed.
The only loser in the whole affair is India, which can only gain if the Army captures some of the foreign militants, so that it can conclusively show the world Pakistan’s involvement in sponsoring violence in the Valley. However, even officials in New Delhi are skeptical of the Armed Forces being equal to the job.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 27, 1995
