Sympathisers of militants pose a key challenge to forces in J&K

The number of Kashmiri separatists’ over ground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers is swelling day after day, causing a serious concern among the security forces who are combating a 31-year-old insurgency in J&K.

“It is one of the major challenges we are facing today. Otherwise, we have had a lot of successes over terror groups in recent months,” said a senior Army officer who spoke to this correspondent on condition of anonymity.

During the past six months, the J&K police has independently or with the assistance of various security forces, including the Army’s counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles, arrested several hundred OGWs of various militant outfits. A couple of dozen more are at present under surveillance, sources said.

Some time ago, American officials too had cautioned India of the looming dangers but, at the same time, suggested it to take certain “soft” measures towards tackling the problem amid the reports renaissance by the overground supporters and sympathisers of Kashmiri separatist militants, the idée fixe of Aazadi and the swelling of its ideologues.

In April this year, Lt. Gen. Devendra Pratap Pandey, Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Army

Corps, had said that the recruitment of OGWs for the militant outfits was going on also through social media and other online mediums. He had said, “The cycle of violence in the south and parts of central Kashmir is still on and there is a need to control it and for that the security forces and citizens need to connect better”. He had also said that the security forces had taken two steps to put an end to militancy in Kashmir — “one to stop recruitment by OGWs and second, to reduce recruitment by OGW’s through social media and other online mediums”.

However, some local analysts are of the view that the drift could well drag the ground situation in J&K particularly the Valley back to square one. “It doesn’t matter how people establish contacts with various militant groups. The important thing is why do they do that and offer or agree to become their OGWs. I think this is share sympathy for these groups and their agenda and this is something which should be the cause of worry for the government, especially the forces,” said one of them.

According to the police authorities, infiltration attempts from across the LoC have shown a sharp decrease recently. After India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. Paramjit Singh Sangha and his Pakistani counterpart Maj. Gen. Nauman Zakaria in February this year pledged to abide by the November 2003 ceasefire understanding, no major infiltration bid has been made.

◗ DURING THE past six months, the police has independently or with the assistance of various security forces arrested several hundred OGWs of various militant outfits