- Few terrorist killings perpetrated by the forces inimical to the interests of the country in Kashmir is a cause of concern for the Indian government authorities who have invested heavily in several fronts ever since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A, respectively in 2019. Not that the terrorist activities had come to complete standstill aftermath of the decisive step as sporadic killings by the terrorist shows. However, the Union Government has initiated several people-friendly measures on the ground sending reassuring signals to the long-suffering population of the region to look forward to positive tidings.
PC: Santhosh Kumar
- Apart from rock solidly standing up to the international pressure on the repeal move, the Indian government has steadfastly refused to give in to the tantrums of the local political leaders too. However, terrorism in Kashmir appears to be entering a new phase with the recent spate of targeted killings throwing a fresh challenge to security forces and in turn, the Union Government. Most alarmingly, there appears to be a pattern in the killings targeting certain people who are contributing immensely to the return of normalcy. Last week, a Kashmiri Pandit businessman was shot dead in his pharmacy while a street food vendor from Bihar and the president of a taxi stand were also gunned down mercilessly.
- Recently, terrorists stormed into a government school in Srinagar and shot dead the principal and a teacher belonging to the Sikh and Hindu communities. If you recollect, a probationary sub-inspector was shot point-blank by militants earlier in September too although targeting of policemen in Kashmir is not new. Except for sporadic killings, there has been a perceptible decline in big-ticket terror attacks largely owing to a tight security grid consisting of the army, CRPF, and police forces coordinating effectively. Nonetheless, terrorism still persists and is yet to be fully stamped out as can be seen with recent killings.
PC: Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu
- Observing the pattern suggests the terrorists are adapting to the changed security scenario using small hit squads to intimidate anyone appearing to be supporting the new normal. A connection can be made to this new tactic with what was witnessed in Afghanistan after the US inked the Doha pact with the Taliban. Several Afghan cities saw a significant rise in targeted killings with gunmen targeting women activists, social workers, and journalists intended to send a message that the eliminated individuals did not have space in their incoming regime. As is its wont, Pakistan is backing both Taliban and terrorists in Kashmir allowing it to portray violence in Kashmir as local.
- Therefore, the only effective way to counter this is to ensure a quantum leap in intelligence capabilities in Kashmir to not only preempt potential terror attacks but also allowing the security forces to quickly neutralize the militants as well. Intentions of the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists are amply evident i.e., to force Kashmir civilians to lose faith in the Indian state. Thus, the onus is on the Union Government to ensure it does all it takes to not fail the Kashmiri people who are finally able to see some light and hope emerging from the dark clouds
