Changing contours

class="keywordtourl" href="https://indian-express-develop.go-vip.net/section/cities/jammu/" class="" rel="nofollow, noopener" target="_blank">Jammu. The situation is in many ways as alarming as it was in early ’90s, although the cadre composition of the armed outfits, strategy and their goals have completely changed.

The post-Kargil militancy in Kashmir is more difficult to tackle unlike the insurgency of early 1990s, Jehad being its main driving force. The three major groups who have taken over the entire insurgency in the State since Kargil Lashkar-e-Toiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Al-Bader areIslamic outfits whose major chunk comprises non-Kashmiri militants. For them, Kashmir’s freedom from India is not the main issue but one among the many battles in the war of the pan-Islamic movement worldwide.

Security agencies acknowledge their casualty rate has increased dramatically in this renewed wave of violence unleashed by highly trained and motivated militants. However, for them the only and most important encouraging aspect in this revived militancy is what they call the absolute indifference and non-involvement of local populace.

First the militants launched `Fidayeen’ (suicide) attacks on forces camps with an aim “to demoralise them and make them feel insecure inside their own fortifications”. These attacks started in August last soon after the conclusion of Kargil war. However, of late, these attacks started fading away and militant strategy changed. During the past fortnight, the militants focussed on planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and landmines on roads to curtail movement of the forces.

Border Security Force Chief in Kashmir Inspector General K. Vijaykumar, as well as J&K Police Operations Chief Inspector General P.S. Gill both ridicule the burst of militant activity. They suggest it to be a temporary and claim this foreign-dominated phase of militancy will be shortlived. “It is true that the foreign militants have created a media hype with a few sensational attacks after Pakistan’s defeat in Kargil, but it will soon fade away,” Kumar told The Indian Express.

According to Kumar, there is “nothing alarming even in the increase in casualty rate of troops on ground. This happens in all insurgencies and is just a difficult phase which does not last too long. In Mizoram, once there were 200 security force casualties in a fortnight and the situation seemed to be at a point of no-return. But things were soon in control,” he said.But Kumar said he does not wish to underestimate this sharp rise in militancy either. “It is essential that my boys are always in an offensive mood. I don’t want them to be on the defensive. This is why I have asked all my battalions to keep not more than 30 per cent troops for defending the camps. More than 70 per cent of our troops are always in the field.”

Inspector General of Police Kashmir range A.K. Bhan claimed that the militancy will finish within six months if foreigners stop coming from Pakistan. “It is not that serious. Though qualitatively today’s militancy is much more better than that of the first round in early 1990’s,” he said.

The ground realities are however different, and most of the police and security force officers do agree to it in private. There has been a complete return of militancy and foundations of this revival were laid during the two-month Kargil war. Director General of J&K Police Gurbachan Jagat has many a time publicly said that infiltration was at its peak during the Kargil war because of withdrawal of troops from the Valley, especially border areas.

The BSF has already sought more troops to deal with the changing security scenario in Srinagar, especially before the State Government’s Durbar move to its summer capital. “Our battalions are over-stretched and have to cover large areas. We need four to five more battallions to get an upper hand,” said Deputy Inspector General BSF, Srinagar, R.P. Singh.

Revived militancy too is not bereft of complications. Contrary to local outfits, most of whom have ceased to exist on ground, the militant groups active these days fight on different issues. The initial indigenous outfits were fighting for a sovereign and independent Kashmir on secular and ethnic lines; even several pro-Pak local outfits had placed more emphasis on plebiscite rather outright `Jehad’.

Nowadays the active groups don’t care for being politically correct domestically or internationally and openly advocate Jehad also with a clear agenda to “clean the society from all un-Islamic dirt”. For instance, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen recently issued a ban on cable television, ignoring Hurriyat calls to lift it. However, cable network operations were resumed when the involved parties agreed upon censoring “un-ethical” channels like MTV, Star Movies and Channel V etc. Last year, there were incidents of girls being shot at for wearing jeans.

However, in early 1990’s even the campaign launched by a separatist women’s group Dukhtaran-e-Milat to force the women to observe `purdah’ (veil) was opposed by many local militant groups.

The reasons are clear: indigenous militant outfits had many compulsions, domestic as well as international. These groups were closely linked with various political separatist organisations active in the State who were also fighting secessionist movement on political as well as diplomatic fronts worldwide. Even groups believing in Jehad played down the fact in order to be politically correct with their international supporters. The aim was less to inflict military damage than to gain sympathy for the alleged human rights violations committed by troops in Kashmir.

Senior security force officers here believe that the only way to stop these highly motivated and well trained militants is to prevent their entry into the State.

“It is difficult to finish this new wave of militancy without stopping all the infiltration from across,” said R.N. Sharma, Deputy Inspector General, BSF, Jammu. “There is a dire need for a serious national level planning to put an end to infiltration.” He said on an average four to five militants are being killed daily in his area of operation (Jammu division) and same number of militants also infiltrate daily. “There is no end to militancy in such a situation,” he said.

Sharma, who headed the BSF’s intelligence wing G Branch in Kashmir Valley during peak militancy years, said there is a need for a three-tier security line along the Line of Control in J&K. “The Army and BSF should make first line, followed by other paramilitary forces as the second line while the Border Police should be strengthened to make the third line. It will help to seal both infiltration and ex-filtration points. Thus the fight against militants in the State will bear fruit,” he said.

Bhan, however, does not believe that there is any remedy to infiltration. “It is impossible to seal all infiltration routes, keeping in view the topography of our borders,”he said.