By Raj Chengappa THE LONG HAUL TO PEACE
The Valley has witnessed a definite ebb in terror and violence over the past few years but security forces are bracing for newer threats, evident from the use of drones by militants and the flow of narcotics from across the border
It is a particularly tense and tough day for Lieutenant General D.P. Pandey, GeneralOfficer-Commanding of the Indian Army’s Srinagarbased Chinar or 15 Corps that guards the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, apart from carrying out counter-insurgency operations in the Valley along with the J&K police. On July 2, a combined party of the security forces had closed in on five terrorists in the Rajpora area of Pulwama district and, in the ensuing encounter, killed all of them, including a district commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). But a havildar of the army’s 44 Rashtriya Rifles was also killed. There was grief in Pandey’s eyes as his aide sent him a slip about the death of one of his men.
Pandey is a veteran of counterinsurgency operations in J&K. Earlier, he commanded the Kilo Force of the Rashtriya Rifles that guards Kupwara, Baramulla and Srinagar. Notwithstanding the encounter that claimed one of his soldiers, Pandey says with quiet confidence: “Based on all security parameters, the current situation in the Valley is very good. Terrorist incidents, atrocities committed by terrorists, use of explosive devices, civilian fatalities, stone-pelting and other law and order issues are all significantly down.” Elaborating on how things have improved, he says: “The parameters of violence are 50-60 per cent down from five years ago. As for protests, stone-pelting is not even 10 per cent of what it was in the past. Recruitment [of militants] from the local cadre is also on a decline this year. I won’t say it has reduced to a great degree, but it has come down a lot.”
Not far from the 15 Corps headquarters where Pandey sits, Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) for Kashmir division, is visiting the police’s central monitoring centre, oddly called ‘Cargo’ (because it was at one point used by Air India for that purpose). At the centre, Kumar is being given a demonstration of a high-tech surveillance vehicle fitted with the latest gizmos to monitor law and order from close quarters. In an adjoining room, rows of TV monitors track every sensitive street in Srinagar, with powerful cameras providing instant close-ups of any suspicious person around. Such is the coordination between the police and the army that around the same time that Pandey received news of one of his men’s death, Kumar was drafting a tweet for the media, lauding the bravery of the deceased army havildar and congratulating the combined forces for a successful operation.
The combination of in-depth, realtime intelligence provided by the police and the lethal striking capabilities of the army’s anti-terror outfits has been one of the key factors that helped tighten the security situation in the Valley. The statistics speak for themselves. Law and order incidents, which used to average over 800 a year, were down to 147 in 2020. This year, there have been just 46 incidents till June. In the past three years, on an average, some 200 terrorists were killed annually as against less than 100 before that period. Arrests of
“Terrorism combines two aspects— one is ‘terror’ and the other is ‘ism’. While terrorist numbers wax and wane, the ‘ism’ has to be controlled”
overground workers, who assist terrorists, have risen sharply, from less than a hundred in 2016-17 to an average 500 over the past three years. In 2020-21 alone, security forces seized over 200 AK-47 rifles and 250 pistols during anti-terror operations.
Like Pandey, Kumar too is an antiterror specialist. He has served in various districts of Kashmir and the Maoist belts of Chhattisgarh, especially Bastar. Anticipating violence in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of J&K on August 5, 2019, the forces took what Kumar terms “multi-dimensional action involving preventive and punitive measures” against potential troublemakers, who were clubbed under three categories. Miscreants in category A had a history of stone-pelting. They were arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA). In category B were those who indulged in violence intermittently. Half of them were arrested under the PSA; the rest were instructed to report to police stations with their parents for counselling. Individuals in category C were those the police thought could turn into miscreants. The police employed both human and technical surveillance to monitor their activities. The iron-fist-in-a-velvetglove approach helped bring down law and order incidents dramatically.
Meanwhile, political leaders, including separatists, were classified under two categories. In category A were leaders from all the major and minor parties. They were kept under detention for a period of four to 15 months, beginning August 2019. In category B were people facing charges of inciting terror. They were arrested under the more stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA); many of them are still in jail. Of the 2,162 persons arrested in the past two and a half years, 913 remain in prisons in various parts of J&K and the country. Of the 600-plus arrested under the PSA, 65 are still in detention.
Along with these measures, a total communication blockade for over six months enabled the security forces to keep unlawful activity in check. At the same time, the security forces went after the key terrorist groups operating in the Valley. Top LeT commanders were killed (the police term is ‘neutralised’) and the counter-insurgency grid on the LoC was tightened to prevent infiltration of Pakistan-backed terrorists. To prevent a repeat of the violence that had followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in 2016, homegrown terrorists were eliminated within days of taking up the gun. A blanket ban was put on funeral processions, which usually generated huge sympathy for slain militants. The Covid pandemic too offered an appropriate excuse to disallow large public gatherings.
An encouraging phenomenon was
“Left unchecked, narco-terrorism would be the next big threat we would have to deal with”
the parents of youths who had gone missing—and supposedly joined militant ranks—seeking police help to trace them and persuade them to return. Even during anti-terror operations, security forces invariably get family members to appeal to the holed up militants to surrender rather than be killed. For the police, it was a sign that public support for militancy was rapidly dwindling. As one police official said: “We are witnessing a trend similar to what happened in Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s before militancy was wiped out from the state. It’s a good sign.”
The security forces also went after the funding network of terror groups. With the help of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), they blocked terror funders. The narcotics department and police clamped down on the growing menace of narcoterrorism. Kumar is concerned that the free flow of drugs into J&K from both across the border and within the country is severely affecting the youth. “If left unchecked, it would be the next big terror threat we would have to deal with,” he warns. The police have started drug rehabilitation centres in sensitive districts, where free medication and psychological help is provided. Every fortnight, the police also hold mohalla meetings with elders of the neighbourhood and community to openly discuss such problems.
In a major development this year, seemingly under international pressure, Pakistan and India agreed to observe a ceasefire on the LoC. With the endgame on in Afghanistan, Pakistan needed all its security forces to focus on gaining dominance there. Before the ceasefire, any transgressions across the LoC by Pakistan were met with a hard response from India. The ceasefire suited India too as it could direct its attention towards development and restoring the political process in J&K. But Pandey cautions, “While there has been no violation of the ceasefire by Pakistan so far, we need to constantly watch their intentions and be on guard. Their objectives related to Kashmir have not changed and they continue to maintain launch pads for terrorists.” Of late, Pakistan-backed terror groups in the Valley seem to have changed tack. No longer do they use social media to boast about joining militancy. All their press releases are now centralised and individual operators are not allowed to put out statements. Communication is mostly on WhatsApp. Instead of Islamic names, they call themselves ‘The Resistance Force’ to give an impression that they are waging a war against an oppressive state rather than propagating Islamic fundamentalism. Fresh challenges continue to emerge. After the drone attack in Jammu last month, Indian armed forces are closely monitoring this new threat. Pandey says the sophistication of explosives and devices used in the attack indicates the hand of state actors. He has a view on how a sustained control on terrorism can be achieved. “Terrorism combines two aspects—one is the ‘terror’ wielded by terrorists and the other is ‘ism’. While terrorist numbers wax and wane, the ‘ism’ has to be controlled. The nexus that runs the conflict economy continues to thrive and a whole of government effort is required to break it,” says Pandey. Kumar agrees. “Radicalisation of youth can be minimised only by running a comprehensive programme in which the police, parents of the youth, and the education, sports and other wings of the government make an integrated effort to control the problem,” he says. The Valley needs a credible and long-term development and employment plan if it is to remain secure in times to come.