Page 14 - English Tehelka Issue 1&2

kashmir militancy

The security agencies have chris-
Why killing more militants cannot tened the ongoing campaign against said that the Centre has already re- militants and also for their managers
in Pakistan. Three hundred is an un-
leased funds for this purpose.
manageable number for them. They
militancy as Operation All Out. The ob-
However, while frequent killings
jective is to eliminate insurgency by at-
has dealt a blow to militancy, there has are liable to be tracked down and
wipe out militancy in Kashmir tempting to kill all the militants within been no corresponding improvement killed. The killings this year is a case
a specific time frame. Viewed from
in the situation. In fact, from a defen-
in point,” said the police officer, add-
that perspective, the security agencies sive posture, militants have often gone ing that ideally Pakistan would want
have been exceptionally successful on the offensive. This year there have around 200 militants operating in
this year. And if the killings continue been sensational attacks like the one Kashmir with an equal proportion of
Even as security forces killed 210 militants in 2017 in the Valley, the ing 9/11? New figures will tell you so. at this rate for another three months, on the Pulwama police lines which foreign and local militants.
it could drastically reduce the number killed eight security personnel and the
“There is a method in keeping the
From around 300 active militants in
largest number in seven years, the situation remains grim with the beginning of this year — the high- of active militants. This, in turn, is ex- one on a security patrol near the criti- number of militants smaller. Pakistan
militants going on the offensive and their numbers now being ‘ideal’ est such number in a decade — the pected to alter the political dynamics cally important Banihal tunnel which wouldn’t want locals to dominate lest
figure has come down to around 200. in the Valley, albeit not fundamentally killed one constable. There was also this compromises the jihad. For ex-
from a defensive point of view, writes riyaz wani Similarly, as against around 100 local so. The deeper factors underpinning one on the BSF camp near Srinagar ample, with security forces piling on
youths who joined militant ranks dur- the current state of affairs will linger airport in which one ASI was killed. more pressure, all locals could surren-
n 2017, security forces killed 210 top commanders from Hizbul Muja- ing the six-month-long post-Burhan on and can be expected to gestate con- Or for that matter, the attack on the der. But the presence of the foreigners
militants in Jammu and Kash- hideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mo- unrest last year, the local recruitment ditions for yet another phase of vio- State Minister for Public Works Naeem keeps this tendency in check. Another
mir, most of them local youths hammad and the newly established Al this year enhanced to 117 militants. lence and unrest. Akhtar during his visit to Tral which drawback is that more local militants
from South Kashmir. This is Qaeda affiliate Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind. Supplemented by more than 70 mili- But so far the union government led to the death of two civilians and could trigger rebellion. Zakir Musa’s is
I the largest number of militants So is militancy in Kashmir once tants which infiltrated from across has refused to look beyond a securi- injury to several others. a case in point. He has gone against the
killed in a year in the past seven years. again on the way to decline on the the border, the number has again ty-centric approach to the situation. Pakistan-based militant leadership,”
Among those killed were around 15 pattern of what had happened follow- gone up to around 200. Apart from a low-key political out- the police officer explained.
reach, that is. For the Centre, the path The deeper factors The local-foreign militant combi-
to stability in the Valley is linear and nation is also important because they
literal: wipe out the militancy and underpinning complement each other, the officer
peace will follow. And to achieve this the current state continued. “One, local militants are
end, all possible measures are being not sufficiently trained and as such
undertaken. of affairs will don’t have fighting capability. So for-
In June, the government moved linger on and can eigners who are more professional
2000 more troops to parts of South compensate for that,” the officer said.
Kashmir most affected by militancy. be expected to “But the locals have a critical role. They
This reinforced the existing heavy gestate conditions act as shelter givers and guides to the
troop presence in the area. Simi- outsiders”.
larly, six Army camps have been set for yet another What does the near future hold
up across Shopian in a throwback to for Kashmir? A lingering uncertainty.
the massive concentration of troops phase of violence Security experts hope that should
the district had witnessed in the early and unrest the current uptick in the killings
nineties. The government has also continue, they would have substan-
gone back to the nineties’ style Cor- tially reigned in the militancy by the
don and Search Operations, popularly “The reason for this is that while the onset of spring. But killings have
known by its abbreviation CASO. This killings may have brought down the hardly been a deterrent in the Valley.
keeps militants on the run and also number of militants, some more local Though local recruitment has dwin-
makes it easier to track them down — recruitment and the fresh infiltration dled somewhat, it hasn’t stopped
albeit, the human and electronic intel- has to some extent replenished the which it did for some years from 2005
ligence have been the predominant shortfall,” a police officer told Tehelka onwards. For it to stop now, the over-
sources of information for the security on condition of anonymity . However, whelming public support that drives it
agencies. as the current figures stand, not all the has to come down.
In addition to this, the union gov- heavy loss has been compensated. As “If not the foreign then certainly
ernment has embarked on a plan to it is, the number of militants now hov- the local component of the militancy
further strengthen the fighting capa- ers around 200, which is about 100 can be reigned in,” said the police
bility of J&K Police and the CRPF by militants down from the early post- officer. “But for that to happen, the
procuring for them bullet-proof ve- Burhan period. public support has to moderate if not
hicles, vests and the latest equipment. But security experts don’t see it as completely disappear”
photos: faisal khan During one of his visits to the state, a setback for the militant groups. “Be-
• Fewer rabble-rousers From around 300 active militants in the beginning of 2017, the figure has come down to around 200 Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tween 150-200 is an ideal number for letters@tehelka.com

tehelka / 31 january 2018 14 www.tehelka.com tehelka / 31 january 2018 15 www.tehelka.com

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