A high level security review meeting was held in Jammu on Saturday in the wake of the encounter in Rajouri in which tragically five security personnel, including two captains, lost their lives. The meeting that was chaired by Director General of Police R R Swain and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 16 Corps Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain discussed sharing of intelligence and synergy to tackle the resurgence of militancy in the region. Following day Inspector General of Police Kashmir, V K Birdi, chaired a meeting at the Srinagar District Police Office, stressing the urgent need to fortify security measures within the city. Intelligence-sharing mechanisms took center stage as a key weapon in staying ahead of the militant threats and criminal activities. Of equal importance was the call to reinforce security surveillance across vital establishments and locations in the city. The IGP also stressed on the importance of seamless coordination among different branches of law enforcement to effectively address the security challenges. He urged the police officers to keep close watch on anti-national and anti-social elements, besides taking stringent action against troublemakers and rumour mongers.
The security review follows the renewed challenge of militancy in the union territory, more so in Jammu. Though overall militancy remains at a low ebb, the situation in the recent past has taken a troubling turn with successive encounters claiming lives of several security personnel. However, this is not to discount the progress made in recent years. Security-wise also, the situation has transformed to a large extent since the withdrawal of Article 370 in August 2019. This has happened incrementally over the period with violence declining sharply, reaching its lowest last year. Earlier, an MHA review highlighted the progress made in J&K in 2022 on economic and security fronts. The union territory, the report said, witnessed “a 54 percent reduction in terrorist incidents, a 22 percent drop in recruitment of militants and 84 percent decline in the deaths of security forces.” In real terms, the militancy related violence has decreased from 417 incidents in 2018 to 229 in 2021 while the number of slain security personnel had reduced from 91 in 2018 to 42 in 2021.
The security forces have killed over 500 militants in the last four years, but the militancy continues to pose a formidable challenge. The militants have struck recurrently to announce their presence. The predominant targets of their attacks have been civilians including those belonging to minorities. As the DGP Swain himself pointed out on Monday that the war against militancy is not over in Jammu and Kashmir saying war ends only when one side accepts defeat. So, while one can’t but acknowledge that Kashmir has come a long way, the situation is far from returning to complete normalcy. And to get there, the government would need to go beyond the security centric approach.
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