Repeated militant attacks in the Jammu region has created a challenging situation for both the state and the union government. On Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi held two separate joint security review meetings in Jammu to introduce a new counter-terrorism strategy. The strategy aims to address operational flaws, intensify counter-terrorist operations, and track down hiding militants with active support from locals. It will take some before the situation gets better. Although, the local militancy has, to a large extent, been reigned in, the influx of foreigners, especially in Jammu, has thrown the union territory into fresh turmoil.
The rise of militancy in twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu division, and which is largely led by foreign militants attests to this fact. More than a decade ago, the twin districts were declared free of militancy by the government. However, since October 2021, the region has witnessed a surge in militant attacks. Although an uneasy calm prevailed in Jammu in 2022, this year the region has once again become a hotspot for militancy, with around ten security personnel being killed in two ambushes. The dense forests of the region have made it difficult for security forces to trace them. The situation has been made even more concerning by the fact that the forest area where the militants are hiding extends to the districts in South Kashmir, which have been a hotbed of militancy in recent years. Kokernag, a scenic spot in the region, recently witnessed a six day long encounter in which a Commanding Officer, Major, DySP and a soldier were killed beside one militant.
In a statement, Lieutenant General Manoj Sinha said that the government is now working on a plan to replicate the counterinsurgency strategy adopted in Kashmir Valley to curb the rising violence in Jammu, a statement he had also made last year. This includes identification and arrest of over-ground supporters of militants, proactive counter-insurgency operations, deployment of police, Army, Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and night patrolling and area domination, which are believed to have helped check infiltration to a large extent in the Kashmir region.
That said, the militancy may be down but it is not out. And it is likely to linger on as long as the fresh recruitment and the infiltration continue to replenish the depleted militant ranks. And to achieve this, the government needs to also work on a political outreach in addition to a security approach which may not deliver results beyond a point.
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