The elimination of Abu Ismail, a top LeT terrorist from Pakistan, who was behind the killing of eight Amarnath pilgrims in July last along with another Lashkar collaborator in an Intelligence-based encounter of security forces at Aribagh on the outskirts of Srinagar, is the latest in the line of successful counter-terrorism operations witnessed in the Kashmir valley in recent months.

The instrument of cross-border terrorism used by the Pak army-ISI combine for its ‘proxy war’ against India for years is now being blunted effectively. What is really significant in this is the welcome development that the J&K Police is now increasingly on the front line of combat against Pak-instigated terror. Security forces have done well to go after the identified terrorist leaders and try to minimise collateral damage. This in turn seems to be one reason why locals are now not rallying against the army operations in the manner they did earlier. Abu Ismail’s death has in fact come as a relief for the people of the area who have expressed appreciation for the action of the security forces.

This is not the only sign of progress in Kashmir. There are two other notable trend setters that promise to bring the state back to normalcy, peace and the path of development for all, regardless of caste, creed and gender. First is the gradual realisation on the part of the average Kashmiri that the valley was being sucked into extremist violence on the instigation of Pak agencies. For the first time in J&K consequently, the democratically elected state government is able to politically and legally pursue the separatists including the Hurriyat for receiving funds from Pak ISI for subverting the state and for directly fomenting violence through paid stone pelters. The separatists under the Hurriyat umbrella had exploited the dependence of regional political parties on their support all these years - there was a time when the Indian establishment treated Hurriyat leaders with kid gloves in the hope of bringing them into the democratic mainstream but their face as the agents of Pakistan became totally exposed when they went along with the Pak ISI's plan of replicating the success of 'Afghan Jehad' in Kashmir with the help of terrorists infiltrated from across the LOC.

This culminated into the new development of Syed Salahuddin working in close collaboration with Hafiz Sayeed of Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan and the militant outfits of Jamaat-e- Islami Kashmir, which had claimed to be an indigenous platform, joining up with the Lashkar supremo. Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen had been funded and armed by LeT and on his death in an encounter with security forces in July last year, it was Asiya Andrabi, head of Dukhtaran-e- Millat, who was the first to reach out to Hafiz Sayeed for help in organising protests in the valley.

The separatists becoming a part of the instrument of cross border terrorism for Pakistan's ‘proxy war’ against India thus made it absolutely necessary for the government to unmask them as enemy agents and crush them with all its might. Slowly but steadily this is being done and the mainstream of Kashmiris is beginning to realise that the separatists were in fact letting Pakistan destroy the peace-loving Kashmiriyat only to replace it with the violent Sunni extremism of the Ahle Hadis, practised by the likes of LeT. Separatists being defanged was the need of the hour and the initial success on this front is already producing good results for Kashmir. As many as seven Hurriyat leaders including the son-in-law of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, have been arrested by NIA, last month for money laundering.

Finally, a significant improvement in the situation in this troubled state is the gradual isolation of peaceniks including many political elements of the current opposition who had sprung up on the scene at a time when the coalition government in Kashmir was facing a tough challenge of instigated civic violence whipped up by Pak agents. Subsequent developments were to bring this out in clear light. These self-appointed interlocutors made out that Kashmiris had risen in revolt, sympathised with the hard core terrorists of Pakistan killed in encounters on our soil, and went on to make an absurd suggestion that to control a disturbed law and order front in the state India must unconditionally talk to Pakistan. This was not an innocent display of concern for human rights or an honest brokering of peace - the approach of these elements smacked of lobbying and the government was in its right to check out if there was some illicit backing in play here.

Prime Minister Modi has done well to secure the support of the world community for India's stand against Pak-sponsored cross border terrorism and achieved success in enlisting the backing of powerful democracies like the US, Japan and Israel in the condemnation of Pakistan for providing safe haven to terrorists across the Islamic spectrum. This strengthens the hands of India in firmly dealing with infiltrated terrorists and their collaborators in Kashmir and taking strong action against the pro-Pak separatists and other stake holders of Pakistan within and outside the state. The BRICS summit at Xiamen compelled China to join the chorus of denunciation of Pakistan as a breeding ground of terrorism.

This will enable India to further raise its voice against the violation of India’s sovereignty by China by way of the encroachment in the Pak-occupied territory of J&K in the name of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

India has already taken a stand against the OBOR so far as it connects with this project of Sino-Pak axis in the territory of POK. The conduct of Pakistan of course, pushes away the prospect of resumption of Indo-Pak talks and the international community understands this.

The coalition government in J&K meanwhile, must step up action against Pak agents embedded in the state administration and reach out to all Kashmiris to prioritise the development schemes in consultation with them. The district administration should be activated to identify the entrepreneurs who needed help and the skilled hands, who could be provided employment within Kashmir or outside. All children must go to schools, tourist infrastructure should be funded liberally and secure visits to shrines of Sufi saints by all communities, which marked the tradition of Kashmiriyat, arranged for building an atmosphere of peace and trust. People of J&K need a relief from excessive politics rooted in sectarianism and communalism.

(The writer is a former director, Intelligence Bureau)