A new normal in Kashmir

It was an eventful Thursday in Kashmir — the firing by the Indian Army along the Line of Control to neutralise a Pakistani border action team, a meeting of his seven commanders from across the country conducted by Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat in Srinagar, and the security forces hitting terrorists in Sopore in North Kashmir. All emanate from a single conception of handling the multiple challenges in Kashmir and strategising to keep the Valley from sinking into the mire.

The firing across the LoC suggests that this will be the new normal. Any Pakistani move to give covering fire to infiltrating terrorists, or in a fit of bravado, will be met with a “tough” response which will be well-publicised to win public approbation, that was much needed after terrorists from Pakistan kept scoring major hits for over a year.

Hunting down terrorists is also the new normal. After the killing of Lt. Umar Fayaz, a Kashmiri officer visiting home in South Kashmir recently, the Army has gone into overdrive. Terrorists are to be sought out and finished. This does mark a change.

All of this was symbolically underpinned by the Army Chief’s decision to conspicuously hold a commanders’ conference in Srinagar. Gen. Rawat has been to the Valley three times in the past month and six times in the last six since taking over, attesting to the new mood of the government of attaching high priority to military operations in Kashmir. This is a corollary to the government’s decision to let politics take a backseat.