Nothing traps Jammu and Kashmir more than the vicious circle of violence and cynicism. One begets the other and the cycle goes on. In 13 years of Pakistan-backed terrorism, neither has failed to keep its date with the state as it did last week in an ominously familiar fashion. For the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Government that is still trying to find its feet amid soaring expectations, the blows came in quick succession.

INSECURE: Jammu's Raghunath temple

It began with a fidayeen (suicide) attack on a CRPF camp in Srinagar on November 22. The next day militants blew up an army bus and on November 24 terrorists wreaked havoc on the Raghunath temple in Jammu, the state's winter capital. Together, they accounted for 34 lost lives. What followed was an acrimonious controversy over the state Government's decision to release 24 jailed militants. The BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre turned the heat on the state's Congress-People's Democratic Party coalition Government. Deputy Prime Minister and Union Home Minister L.K. Advani pointedly accused the Mufti Government of not consulting the Centre before freeing jailed suspects. Stung by the charges and desperate to deny the BJP a propaganda weapon for the Gujarat election campaign, the Congress put up a spirited defence of the chief minister. By freeing militants, Mufti was merely trying to give a "healing touch", it argued.

The Congress response, articulated by party President Sonia Gandhi in Jammu as well as in Parliament, centred on the assertion that the state Government's move had prior approval of the Central intelligence agencies working under the Union Home Ministry.

For Mufti, the spectre of militant attacks has brought home the pitfalls of his much-vaunted "healing touch" policy. The two steps that Mufti earnestly took soon after coming to power-a freeze on POTA and release of militants-are the cornerstones of his policy. The tactic was to first put down "the internal fire of discontent and alienation" in Kashmir, a significant break from the security-centric approach of the past. But last week's twin attacks have brought Mufti's "goodwill gestures" under a cloud. There are strong indications that the setbacks on the security front and the political compulsion of the Congress may force the chief minister to abandon plans to free more militants. Government insiders admit that plans to release more separatist-militants on Id have now been dropped.

Though it put up a stout defence of Mufti, the Congress is wary about the release of militants. It is uncomfortable with the idea of being seen as part of a government that is being accused of soft-pedalling on terrorism. "If the violence escalates, the policy (of releasing militants) will have to be reviewed," says Congress Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma.

Though the freeing of detainees figures in the Common Minimum Programme of the ruling coalition, the Congress was kept in the dark about the recent releases. The issue was not even mentioned in the cabinet meetings that Mufti chaired. Given the Kashmiri people's propensity to look with suspicion at every move initiated by Delhi, Mufti kept the release of militants within the state Government's ambit. "An impression that we cannot take any decision without the approval of the Centre will undermine the moral authority of this Government," says Muzaffar Hussain Beig, state law minister. "Delhi cannot rub our nose in the dirt on issues which form part of our political agenda."

"The state had the approval of Central intelligence agencies."	"The Union Government was not consulted on release of prisoners."
SONIA GANDHI, Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha	L.K. ADVANI, Deputy Prime Minister

What raised Delhi's hackles was the haste with which Mufti went about releasing militants after "casual consultation" with an Intelligence Bureau official. Delhi insists that Special Director K.M. Singh, the bureau's pointsman in Jammu and Kashmir was merely paying a courtesy call on the new chief minister on November 7, when the two discussed a slew of issues including Mufti's plan to release detainees. Official sources say Singh even conveyed his reservations about the release of at least 12 of the 24 detainees who had been identified for release by the Mufti Government. "As informal consultations do not amount to formal concurrence, the matter was not conveyed to the Union Home Ministry," says a senior official. Advani was perhaps right when he told Parliament: "Before releasing detainees the intelligence agency was consulted, not the Government or the minister. I would like to make it clear that the Union Government was not consulted in this regard."

MUFTI'S BANE: JKLF leader Yasin Malik (centre was among the 24 rebels released

In fact, Home Secretary N. Gopalaswami had faxed a letter to the Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary on November 14 suggesting a cautious approach in releasing terrorists, saying the soft approach could demoralise the security forces and embolden jehadis to plan more attacks. But by the time the letter reached the Jammu Civil Secretariat, seven detainees had already been set free. While IB is facing flak from the Home Ministry for keeping it in the dark, agency officials feel that they have been dragged into a controversy over an insignificant issue by the Congress just to derive political mileage.

In a state where all but 900 of the over 36,000 people arrested in the past 13 years have either been acquitted or granted bail, Mufti's gesture has sent a small but powerful message. "Our strategy is not to appease militants but to divest them of the reason to wield the gun," says Mufti. Ironically, Mufti's olive branch may have provoked the Pakistan-based jehadis to escalate violence to scuttle his move to wean away Kashmiri renegades.

Flush with popular expectations but hamstrung by a financial crunch, the Mufti Government has been quick to script its priorities. The centrepiece of its governance are the decisions that involve little resources but have a high resonance among the public. His swift beginning on clearing the backlog of compensation to the victims of militancy-a tool that was used by the previous Farooq Abdullah regime more for patronage than succour-has brought him early goodwill. Equally well-received has been his move to buttress the Government's anti-corruption credentials by passing the Accountability Bill in the very first session of the Assembly. The bill had been hanging fire for the past six years of the National Conference rule. It will establish an Accountability Commission that will have the same function as the Lokpal in other states.

But it is terrorism that still poses the biggest threat to Mufti's regime. Intelligence agencies are of the view that terrorist attacks will be stepped up in the winter months and infiltration from across the border levels will be as high as it was last year. As CPI(M) MLA Yousaf Tarigami says, "Terrorism has proved to be the biggest challenge all these years and it will continue to be so for the new Government." The militants' tactics have clear contours-attack security forces in the Valley, target the Hindus in Jammu and in other states like Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Besides, with global focus once again shifting to Iraq, Pakistan is under no pressure to rein in the terrorists. This became evident when Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf allowed the Jamaat-ul-Dawaa, parent organisation of Lashkar-e-Toiba, to hold its congregation at Putaki in Punjab last month. The resurgence of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amaal (MMA) and entry of the Sipah-e-Sahaba leader Azam Tariq in Pakistan's National Assembly indicate that jehad will continue to be an instrument of Islamabad's Kashmir policy.

Jammu, the soft underbelly where communal passions run high, is most likely to be the focus of militant attacks. "The biggest healing touch that the people need is not release of militants but a respite from militancy," says NC chief Omar Abdullah. The BJP, in a bid to cash in on the rising anger among the people of Jammu, is railing against the Mufti Government being a "pro-militant dispensation".

The task of the new chief minister is unenviable. The post-election euphoria has suddenly been replaced by grim portents on the security front. And Mufti's twin policies that he is actively pursuing-a sustained anti-militancy drive and peace posturing-may well mean that he has the task of performing the longest of delicate balancing acts.

-with Shishir Gupta

Read the full interview with Mufti Mohammed Sayeed