On January 13, 2023, following a series of terrorist attacks in Jammu’s Rajouri and Poonch districts near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced a three-month strategy to combat militancy in the region and pledged to cast “a 360-degree net” after mobilising all security agencies. His press conference in Jammu city followed a review meeting at the Raj Bhavan that the following people attended: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha; Home Secretary A.K. Bhalla; the Northern Command chief Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi; heads of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the National Investigation Agency, the Intelligence Bureau, and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW); and top officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the civil administration.
One and a half years later, militancy has still not abated. After Narendra Modi assumed office as Prime Minister for the third term on June 9, which coincided with a terrorist attack on a bus in Reasi district in Jammu that killed nine pilgrims, there has been a sharp rise in militant attacks and movement. In July alone, 12 soldiers lost their lives to militancy. On July 25, authorities announced the closure of all Army schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas in Jammu and along the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway for four days because of security concerns. Nearly 50 security personnel—the majority of them Army men—have died in various terror attacks in Jammu province, besides civilians, after the October 2021 clash between militants and the Army in the Poonch, Chamrer, and Bhatta Durrian forests.
Infiltration bids have led to repeated ceasefire violations along the international border and the LoC. Even though there is a three-tier Anti Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) along the heavily mined border with Pakistan, it remains porous at certain places due to geographical and climatic reasons. With militants using tunnels and insulated cutters to cross the fencing system in the past, the demand for a smart fencing system has increased following the recent attacks.
Defence strategists such as Major General (retd) G.D. Bakshi and former DGP of the Jammu and Kashmir Police S.P. Vaid believe that since the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019, China has been aiding Pakistan in covert operations in Jammu. The region had enjoyed relative peace for over a decade, but the relocation of troops to Ladakh as a result of the standoff with China after the 2020 deadly clashes at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley has weakened the counterterrorism grid.
Vaid describes the recent spate of militant attacks as “an act of war”. He claims that over 600 commandos from Pakistan’s Special Service Group (SSG) have been designated for operations, with some already having infiltrated Jammu and Kashmir to carry out terror attacks. “It is no surprise the precision with which these attacks are taking place,” he said, adding that Pakistan was attempting to create a situation similar to the Kargil conflict in the Jammu region.
Talking to Frontline, Vaid stated that the recent unrest in Jammu was part of the Pakistani deep state’s deliberate strategy in response to the setbacks in Kashmir. “Jammu has been peaceful for the past 10-15 years, troop deployment has been diluted, and there has been a general laxity. Therefore, it has targeted Jammu to ease pressure on the security grid in Kashmir and the India-China border in Ladakh. It is happening in conjunction with China,” he said. Unlike Kashmir, he said, Jammu’s challenging terrain requires more troops, giving Pakistan an advantage.
“I can’t recall if we have seen these kind of ambush attacks even in Kashmir in the past where they are getting away unscathed after killing soldiers,” said Vaid. “They are well-trained, using steel-coated Chinese bullets and secure Chinese apps for communication. The pattern of ambushes and attacks, seen in Rajouri and Poonch a few years ago, is now spreading to districts like Reasi, Kathua, Udhampur, and Doda.”
In June this year, Rashmi Ranjan Swain, DGP incharge of Jammu and Kashmir, told reporters that despite a “degraded capability”, Pakistan continued to send personnel and resources to Jammu and Kashmir. He maintained that 60 to 70 terrorists remained active on launch pads across the LoC. Many security experts believe that militants have already set up bases deep inside the Pir Panjal forests. They have called for Operation Sarp Vinash 2.0 to eliminate the terrorist bases.
At Hunderman village near the Line of Control in Kargil district on July 27. | Photo Credit: TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP
Of late, the J&K Police have also decided to recruit new Special Police Officers (SPOs) from villages that have been declared militancy-affected, besides strengthening village defence groups (VDGs). The police have offered cash rewards for information on militants.
Meanwhile, Swain has proposed that militant supporters be prosecuted under the Enemy Agents Ordinance of 2005, which carries life imprisonment or the death penalty, rather than the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). According to the provisions of the ordinance, the accused cannot hire a lawyer unless authorised by the court and there is no provision for appeal against the verdict.
The police have also warned that sharing propaganda posts of militants on social media will invite action under Sections 13 (encouraging or inciting the commission of an illegal activity) and 18 (encouraging or inciting the commission of a terrorist act) of the UAPA.
The Lt Governor’s administration, meanwhile, has decided to seize properties of those who had crossed the border from Kishtwar, Doda, and Ramban districts to engage in militancy from there. Security agencies claim to have intercepted calls revealing their efforts to motivate local youths to join militancy.
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The recent attacks, which challenge the government’s claims of normalcy, coincide with major attacks in Pakistan’s restive regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan has been accusing India of carrying out “sophisticated and sinister extraterritorial and extrajudicial killings” in its terrain. In June, unidentified gunmen in Pakistani Punjab’s Jhelum district killed Amir Hamza, a retired Pakistan Army brigadier and former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) operative who was a prime suspect in the 2018 fidayeen (suicide squad) attack on the Sunjuwan Army camp in Jammu. In a separate incident last year, Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Khwaja Shahid, also known as Mia Mujahid, another suspect in the Sunjuwan attack, was found beheaded near the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Their names feature on the list of over two dozen terror operatives killed across the border by unknown gunmen.
Operational inefficiencies
After the recent ambushes on soldiers in the forested terrain of Jammu province, some reports pointed to frequent delays in the arrival of reinforcements. This sparked concerns about operational inefficiencies, strategic lapses, and logistical shortcomings. In an interview with Frontline, Lieutenant General (retd) D.S. Hooda, the former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, who was in charge of planning and executing the Uri surgical strike, emphasised the need to refine counter-infiltration strategies besides creating a unified command system for better coordination between different security forces and intelligence agencies, making optimum utilisation of resources, and above all, establishing clear accountability.
After every attack, security personnel round up scores of local people for questioning and, in some cases, claim to have arrested some overground workers of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed. But they have not yet got any important leads. As the Central government intensifies its efforts to remilitarise the region and enhance aerial surveillance, Para-Commandos have been deployed to sensitive areas to track down terrorists. However, significant challenges remain.
Some recent incidents involving the killing of civilians suspected of being militants or their associates underline a breakdown in communication between the security forces and local communities. In border regions, where the presence of the civil administration is scant and residents are largely dependent on the Army and the BSF, there are a lot of unresolved grievances. In some areas, the security forces have revived the tradition of regular civil-military meetings.
Intelligence sources and ground reports indicate that failures in human intelligence gathering continue to hinder the security forces. “To gather intelligence effectively, having a Counter Intelligence grid on the ground is crucial. However, once this grid is removed, where will the inputs come from? The local police have their limitations. The ISI has identified this gap and is exploiting it,” Gen. Bakshi said.
He further said: “The situation was even more dire in Rajouri-Poonch, where militants operated in large groups and launched fidayeen attacks on the brigade headquarters. The forested and mountainous terrain facilitated their operations, but we have managed to break their backbone.”
Many security officers posted along the LoC admit that intelligence gathered through local sources was proving ineffective. Local observers blame it on the past failures of the security forces. According to them, many sources they employed were never suitably rewarded for risking their lives.
There are also reports about residents along the LoC being involved in narco-terrorism activities. Nizam Din, a resident of Poonch district’s heavily militarised Keerni village, which is situated several kilometres behind the zero line and across the fence from Pakistan, was arrested in 2022 for his alleged involvement in illegal cross-border activities. The family refuted the charges, asserting that he actively participated in military civic action programmes under Operation Sadbhavana. Din was a government teacher awaiting job regularisation. Following his arrest, the police announced that they had busted a network involved in smuggling an improvised explosive device and a large quantity of narcotics. The operation led to the arrest of five terror associates, including a young woman named Zaitoona Akhter, from the nearby Qasba village.
Highlights
- Challenging the government’s claims of normalcy, there has been a sharp rise in militant attacks in the south of the Pir Panjal in the Jammu region. Infiltration bids have led to repeated ceasefire violations along the international border and the LoC.
- Defence strategists believe that it is part of the Pakistani deep state’s deliberate strategy in response to the setbacks in Kashmir. Despite a “degraded capability”, Pakistan continues to send personnel and resources to Jammu and Kashmir.
- Intelligence sources and ground reports reveal ineffective human intelligence gathering. Residents, SPOs, and those working in Village Defence Committees express concerns that they are expendable due to their risky work.
A few years ago, this writer met several border residents in the same district who had worked alongside security and intelligence agencies but felt neglected after the ebb of militancy in the region. One such villager, Ghulam Hussain alias Titru, has an intriguing story. He worked as an intelligence operative and earned commendation certificates but had little to sustain his family. After militants blasted his house in Guntrian village in a revenge attack, he was forced to live in hiding.
Village Defence Committees
Likewise, residents, as well as SPOs and those working in VDGs, previously Village Defence Committees, express concerns that they are considered expendable. There is no dearth of stories of men who were recruited as spies and risked everything to work undercover in Pakistan only to be abandoned after their capture. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ annual report for 2022-23, Jammu and Kashmir has 4,153 VDGs and 32,355 SPOs. The VDGs, established in 1995 and overseen by district police officers, and the SPOs, introduced the same year to assist in counterterrorism efforts, face challenges from ongoing cross-border terrorism.
The SPOs largely remain a casualised workforce and continue to sulk because of their low salaries, according to a source in the intelligence agencies. They earn between Rs.6,000 and Rs.18,000 a month depending on experience. In some cases SPOs who have played a key role in getting more than a dozen militants killed are awaiting job regularisation even after 15 years.
In 2015, two surrendered militants who had joined the police as SPOs fled with an INSAS and an AK-47 assault rifles from a police station in Doda. In another case, another SPO ran off with seven AK-47 rifles, one INSAS and a pistol to join the Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit in 2018 in Kashmir.
In January this year, police chief Swain gave an assurance that those who had demonstrated exceptional performance would be regularised. Following a recent encounter in the Hiranagar sector, where two terrorists were killed, Swain promoted nine SPOs as constables. Talking to reporters in Kathua, he said the VDGs too shall be strengthened.
Firing practice at a CRPF camp in Jammu’s Sunderbani district in January 2023. The police chief said Village Defence Guards (VDGs) were being strengthened. | Photo Credit: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Emphasising the need for a strong military because of the mountainous borders with Pakistan and China, Gen. Bakshi said: “While a 1:3 superiority is needed in plain terrain, a 1:10 ratio is required in mountainous regions. It is already costing us in terms of resurgence of terrorism.”
The government’s claims of normalcy seem misplaced. Most of the internally displaced migrants in the past 10 years have not gone back to their native villages in the upper reaches of the Pir Panjal. “I will be the first to return to my native village, Narkote, if the government provides basic amenities in the area and gives me some financial assistance to rebuild my home and restart farming,” said Jagdev Singh, a resident of the Talwara migrant camp in Reasi district. “But at the same time, I need a sophisticated weapon and not a rusty .303 rifle, which the government is giving the VDGs.” He cited the examples of Baldev Singh and Tara Mani, residents of Narkote, who suffered serious injuries after their rifles blasted during a fire practice held by the district police in June this year.
Despite threats and new challenges, the Union Territory saw its highest voter participation in the past 35 years, with a combined turnout of 58.4 per cent in five Lok Sabha constituencies. The Election Commission of India described the outcome as “a massive stride for India’s electoral polity”.
The Supreme Court has directed the Union government to hold the Assembly election in the region before September this year, but after the recent attacks, Lt Gen. (retd)Syed Ata Hasnain and former Army chief General V.P. Malik have warned against it. But political leaders from various parties believe that the absence of a popular government could lead to public alienation and create a situation that militants might exploit.
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Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti demanded the sacking of DGP Swain after the recent attacks. Swain, on the other hand, accused regional parties of sympathising with militants. “There is ample evidence showing that many leaders have mastered the art of running with the hare and hunting with the hound, leaving the common man and security forces confused,” he was quoted as saying.
Mehbooba’s predecessor and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah puts the onus on the Centre. “If you think that the situation is worse than 1996 and you want to establish the supremacy of militants over your security forces, don’t hold the election,” he told reporters in Srinagar. “But if you feel that the military and the police are in control, and the authorities have enough courage, elections must be held on time.”
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