Revival of terror in J&K: Will PM walk the talk?

On June 20, 2024, PM Narendra Modi warned the ‘enemies of Jammu and Kashmir’ from Srinagar, saying India “Will not hesitate to teach them a lesson.” It is time for it.

Amid a fresh wave of terrorist attacks for a couple of months in Jammu and Kashmir, worryingly in Jammu region, too, the nation is subjected to much pain and anguish each time one of security personnel is martyred. Even as it is coming to terms in the aftermath of July 8 terrorist attack at Jenda Nallah in Badnota village in Jammu division, in which five Army personnel were killed, it was shocked by the news of the martyrdom of four Army personnel, including an officer, and a cop in an encounter with heavily armed terrorists in Doda district on Monday. It is the sixth major terrorist attack reported from the Jammu region this year.

In this context, it is alarming to note that terror cartels shifted their operations to Jammu after destabilising peace and order in Kashmir. The Jammu region is under a state of siege! ‘Kashmir Tigers’ claimed responsibility and earlier it said it was involved in the attack on an Army convoy in Kathua on July 9. Rise in terror acts, after a long lull, is quite worrying despite the entire union territory lying under a security blanket. It is surprising the Pakistan-backed terrorist forces are still finding ways to sneak in their operatives, besides arms and ammunition. Or is there any effect on the security architecture following the intrusion of Chinese forces in eastern Ladakh in 2020? Large contingents were reportedly moved out to fend off the Chinese.

Despite a multilayer security strategy and a vast intel deployment, terrorists have the sympathy of locals and are ambushing the forces or targeting anti-Pakistan civilians. This will demoralise the patriotic public at large, if quick and decisive steps are not taken to extricate the sleeper cells. Also, it is not uncommon that local leaders visit homes of slain terrorists and express sympathy in public. An exasperated DGP R R Swain on Monday observed that, “Things had come to such a pass that the so-called mainstream political parties had started cultivating leaders of terror networks… and sometimes directly to further their electoral prospects...”

The BJP-led NDA government, for its part, must start the political process in the state for resumption of legislature. The President’s Rule was imposed in December 2018 after the BJP quit the coalition with People’s Democratic Party in June 2018, citing resurgence of terrorism and radicalisation in Kashmir.

On 5 August 2019, the parliament approved the abolition of Article 370, annulling special status to Jammu and Kashmir. In addition, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two union territories i.e., the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh.

After keeping the State under Central rule for such a long time, the BJP cannot justify the spurt in terrorist acts. It has to allow the political process firm up so that local leadership take over reins, win over the general populace, particularly youth, with better welfare and employment prospects.

Meanwhile, Pakistan must be spoken to in the language it understands. India has to explore all the options on the table. Calls are growing this time even from restrained security observes and analysts, that it is time India takes recourse to stringent punitive measures such as the surgical strikes on Pakistani soil on September 29, 2016, which eliminated seven terrorist launch pads, wiping out all terrorists and their Pak handlers.