3 Punjab soldiers among 5 killed in J&K gunfight
JAMMU: Five soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), were killed in an exchange of fire with heavily armed terrorists in a forested area at Surankote in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Poonch district on Monday amid a spike in violence in the region.
Three other gunfights were reported on Monday in Kashmir — while two terrorists were killed and a policeman was injured in encounters in Anantnag and Bandipora, a gun battle was on till late on Monday in Shopian. The latest casualties are the worst security forces have suffered in anti-insurgency operations in J&K this year.
The exchange of fire in Poonch was triggered during a cordon and search operation that was launched early on Monday morning following intelligence inputs about the presence of around four to five terrorists in the forested area near the Line of Control (LoC), or the de facto border between India and Pakistan, in J&K.
“In ensuing firefight during the ongoing encounter with terrorists, a JCO and four soldiers of Indian Army suffered critical injuries. The critically injured were evacuated to the nearest medical facility but they succumbed to their injuries,” said army spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand. He added that additional reinforcements have been rushed to the area.
October, just before the onset of winter, usually sees an increase in infiltration attempts with handlers of the terrorists in Pakistan trying to get more of them into India before traversing the already inhospitable terrain becomes almost impossible. Those killed in the incident were identified as Jaswinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gajjan Singh, Saraj Singh and Vaisakh H, the army said.
The last time security forces suffered significant casualties was in May 2020 when five of their personnel, including a Colonel and a Major, were killed in an 18-hour anti-insurgency operation in the Handwara area of Kashmir valley.
Earlier in the day, security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Khagund in Anantnag district’s Verinag area following intelligence inputs, an official said. The search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated, he said. One terrorist was killed in the gunfight and a policeman was injured.
THE LATEST CASUALTIES ARE THE WORST SECURITY FORCES HAVE SUFFERED IN J&K OPS THIS YEAR
SRINAGAR/JAMMU: J&K mainstream leaders have raised concern over the worsening security situation in J&K, especially in Kashmir, in the backdrop of series of civilian killings and other security related incidents.
PDP president and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti said the situation in J&K has gone from bad to worse. “My fears are compounded by the fact that instead of course correction, the central government will continue its muscular policy to reap political dividends in elections. Case in point being the upcoming UP polls. Ironically, GOI spreads canards that Kashmiri Muslims don’t stand up for minorities here. Truth is that this vicious hateful propaganda suits BJP’s electoral and prospects.”
She said until yesterday, the security grid was completely immersed in organising picnic tours and horseback riding for visiting ministers. “Perhaps these attacks could have been averted if their sole focus wasn’t these ministerial visits and normalcy acrobatics. Everyone here is living in an atmosphere of suppression and fear,” she added.
PAGD spokesperson and CPI(M) general secretary MY Tarigami said the current situation is the result of the failure of the policies of the government that have brought J&K to this point. “The responsibility to create a conducive security environment lies with the government of India,” he added.
People’s Conference spokesperson Adnan Ashraf said the current environment was a grim reminder of the “changelessness on the security front despite tall claims of the government”.
NC provincial president and former minister Nasir Aslam Wani said that the current situation in Kashmir has got worse security-wise. “Tall claims have been made about the security situation improving in Kashmir or J&K. These claims are completely wrong... The ground reality is completely different in the UT and there is no sense of security among people,” he added.
‘Spike in violence due to Pakistan’s desperation’
Tej Krishan Bhat, general secretary of All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference, said, “Everyone knows the reason behind this spike in selective killings. There is an Islamic Jihad, which is on. They don’t want any non-Muslim to settle in Kashmir. And then, development and peace being ensured by the Centre were indigestible to Pakistan. That is the reason soft targets are being killed to create a fear psychosis and do the same what they did to us in 1990.” He said that abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A was one of the reasons.
President of the J&K Congress, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, said, “The BJP had said everything will be fine after the abrogation of Article 370. Now, when everything is in direct control of home minister Amit Shah, then why the situation is deteriorating?”
Panthers Party leader and former minister Harsh Dev Singh said, “The situation has certainly worsened. We didn’t see such kind of situation in the past. Now civilians are being killed, selective killings are on the rise. Security personnel are being eliminated. This government stands fully exposed.”
Shafiq Mir, chairperson of All J&K Panchayat Conference and chairperson, Bufliaz block development council in Poonch, said, “The spike in civilian killings and militant attacks on security forces in the areas which were earlier declared militancy free till 2019 show the true picture. These civilian killings are a matter of great concern and we are worried about the security of panchayat leaders, who have always been soft target of militants in the past.”