Srinagar, June 05: The new governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Lt General (retd) S K Sinha, has stressed setting up of a unified council to tackle terrorism in the troubled state. ''Yes, I will function as a pro-active governor of the state but that does not mean I will interfere in the functioning of the state government,'' he told mediapersons after taking oath as the 11th governor of the state.
Lt Gen Sinha, who had a long tenure as governor of militancy-hit Assam, said by 'pro-active' he meant he would help the government in all spheres so problems of the people were addressed adding that restoring peace in the state would be his top priority. ''We have to work together to finish terrorism and restore peace in the state,'' Lt Gen Sinha said adding he had extremely cordial relations with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Stressing the need for formation of a ''unified council'', Lt Gen Sinha said all components of the administration including the security forces had to work under a unified command to overcome militancy.
''All elements of the security forces and the administration have to work together, make policies and plans to deal with the situation,'' he said.
''I suggested a unified council because of my past experience,'' he said adding the world over the problem of insurgency had been tackled by similar councils. A unified council had also been set up in Assam and it had succeeded in its mission, Lt Gen Sinha pointed out.
When asked what message he had received from the Centre before taking over, he replied, ''To restore peace and help people of the state to come out of this turmoil.''
Blaming Pakistan for the turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir, Lt Gen Sinha said, ''We are fighting a proxy war of our neighbour. We will succeed in defeating them.''
He said Pakistan was aiding and abetting militancy in India and ''we have to defeat them unitedly.'' Sharing his experience in Indonesia when that country was facing insurgency in the early forties, he said as part of the security forces they had worked under one command and controlled the situation.
Lt General Sinha, a veteran of the 1947 war, described his appointment as governor as a ''home coming''.
''The Kashmir Valley is not new to me as I have served here in all sectors,'' he said recalling the operation of 1947. “I still remember how we took 800 sorties from Delhi to airlift our soldiers to Srinagar airport which was full of grass.''
Lt General Sinha said the situation in Kashmir was different from Assam and Punjab. Assam faced insurgency but now there was peace and people in that state were marching ahead in every field while punjab witnessed terrorism.
''The situation in Kashmir is a little different and what is happening here is backed by Pakistan... We can call it terrorism as militants are killing innocent women, children and men,'' he said.
No religion, including Islam, which preaches only peace and brotherhood, allowed the killings of innocents, he said.
Bureau Report