The twin issues of Sainik colonies and separate colonies for Kashmiri Pandits have proved to be a unifying factor for the fragmented separatist organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, who buried their differences and joined Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik for a united shutdown. The intelligence agencies and the J&K police are watching the coming together of separatist leaders closely and have advised Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to tread with caution. “In their report, the intelligence agencies have said that the separatists were preparing to start an agitation like that in 2008 and 2010, if the government fails,” a PDP minister told this newspaper. The minister added that the militants were also regrouping to foment trouble during summer.
The minister added that it was on this feedback that a decision was taken to arrest Yasin Malik. Malik was trying to unite the separatists and was also providing space for some militant organisations to regroup themselves.
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