Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has, in the course of his press conference at New Delhi on February, 16, indicated that there is an improvement in the internal security situation of the country. With respect to Jammu and Kashmir he asserted that there are signs of the situation coming under control and that the people of the State could look forward to orderly development processes especially so in the matter of enhanced employment opportunities.
The assessment of the Prime Minister would give ample reason to cheer but for the lingering doubt that it is a bit premature. Jammu and Kashmir is traditionally stable at this time of the year. A better assessment can be made only if this stability holds in the sensitive months from April to September. It also has to be kept in mind that the separatists, as and when they come into their disruptive element, invariably assert that politics and development are two different issues, under such circumstances the government’s efforts towards development do not help in controlling an adverse security and divisive situation.