Govt deploys more boots on ground to combat terrorism in Jammu

In view of spike in terror attacks in Jammu region, which saw at least a dozen army soldiers killed in July alone, the union government has decided to move two battalions of Assam Rifles — elite counter insurgency force — to terror-hit region to strengthen the security grid and counter such attacks, defense officials said.

At least 14 terror attacks have taken place in Jammu region since the start of this year, which have resulted in killing of 27 people, including a village defense guard, and five terrorists. An army captain and four soldiers were killed in most recent terror attack on July 15 in the high altitude Dessa Hills of Doda district.

While there has been a gradual uptick in terror attacks in Kashmir in recent months, Hindu majority Jammu region has experienced relative peace in three decades of armed insurgency. But it seems to have become epicenter of terrorism in recent weeks prompting the government to take a series of security measures to tackle the surge in terrorism particularly in south of the Pir Panjal range.

Notably, the union government recently deployed at least 3,000 army soldiers & 2,000 BSF personnel in Jammu region to secure Jammu-Srinagar and Mughal road and plug in at least 14 infiltration routes identified by the security grid along the International Border (IB) in Jammu region.

The terror attacks which led to the killing of nine Hindu pilgrims and a Village Defense Committee (VDC) member besides security personnel have triggered immense insecurity and fear among people in Jammu region.

“Jammu has been calm for past years and we were living peacefully but recent terror attacks have caused insecurity and fear among us,” Shabaz Ahmad, 45, a shopkeeper in Doda district told Education Post.

“The government has now taken some measures to beef up the security and we just hope the peace is restored,” he added.

Praveen Kumar, a Jammu resident said the terror attacks have literally snatched peace and rendered people sleepless especially in Doda and Reasi districts.

“Fear has gripped Jammu in wake of recent attacks. We are feeling unsafe and pray the situation is back to normal soon,” the 55-year-old said.

There had been barely three terror attacks on security forces in the Jammu region during 2022 and 2023 but this year, at least seven attacks have already been reported so far.

‘Troop reduction & lack of human intelligence’

Deployment of troops along the China border can not be ignored given the increased movement of the Chinese troops along the disputed frontier but it should not come at the cost of withdrawing troops from Jammu— a hilly and mountainous region always vulnerable to terror attacks and assaults, said Ajai Sahni, Founder and Executive Director of New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management and South Asia Terrorism Portal.

“Look, a large number of soldiers were moved to the frontiers along India’s border with China in recent years and at the same time proper troop deployment was not ensured in Jammu. The recent terror attacks in the region including the Pir Panjal range is a result of such miscalculation and dilution of the security grid,” Sahni told Education Post.

Pertinently, at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed along the LAC in a rare firefight escalating the tensions between two nations a few years ago. There has not been much headway even as talks were held between the two armies and governments following the hand to hand combat between armies in 2020.

“The Jammu region is mountainous and densely forested unlike Kashmir and when you move out a large number of troops, you put the armed forces at a considerable disadvantage and make them vulnerable to such attacks. Why are terrorists not able to disrupt Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir because you have already made elaborate and robust security arrangements for the pilgrimage,” Sahni added.

The human intelligence network vital for successful anti-terror operations and to combat terrorism has considerably declined in Jammu region mainly due to unpopular policies of the government in recent years, according to Sahni.

“The government has tried to divide people by changing the constituencies and dominating the electoral process. The have employed the politics of trying to set up proxy parties in Jammu and Kashmir and suppressed the existing political formations. All this has become a ground for grievance,” Sahni said.

“Security forces were able to neutralize the terrorists before they could carry out an attack because the people would spot terrorists and inform the security agencies well on time. But such ‘source networks’ have become unreliable or even does not exist anymore,” he added.

According to Sahni, the communities in Jammu particularly the people of Pahari and Gujjar tribe strongly opposed the terrorism and cooperated with the security forces mostly through intelligence networks in the past but the scenario is largely different now and which is why it has become more challenging for security forces to combat terrorist assaults.

Notably, the alleged custodial death of three tribal Muslim men in Jammu’s Topa Pir village in Poonch district in December last year following a terror attack that killed four soldiers caused widespread anger and distrust between the security forces and the local people, and more significantly impacted the intelligence network on the ground.

The three men were picked up by the army following the attack in December last year and allegedly tortured to death in custody.

Shish Paul Vaid, former Director General of Police Jammu and Kashmir also stresses on the need to strengthen the security grid and human intelligence network to combat surge in terrorism.

“Robust human intelligence or source network is so vital for counter terror operations. There is a need to further strengthen the network so that security forces are able to combat such terror attacks as they have done with authority and confidence in the past,” Vaid told Education Post.

“The surge in terror attacks in Jammu is a result of intermittent infiltration of terrorists from across the border and needs to be stopped by upgrading the anti-infiltration grid. The key is to upgrade the security grid as well human network especially in Pir Panjal range, which is more prone to such terror attacks mainly due to rocky formations and dense forests,” he added.