Terror and fright

The fleeing migrants — caught in fright — from Kashmir to their homes in other states somewhat remind of the exodus of Kashmiri pandits in the 1990s. The land of Kashmir has long been perceived as being associated with terror incidences. But the current situation can be termed as worse, as the intent is to apparently instill fear among non-local civilians, and that is being done quite successfully. On one hand, in the upper region of Poonch, we have lost nine security personnel in an encounter operation while hunting down for infiltrators. On the other hand, innocent persons are being targeted and killed at short intervals in Kashmir. Over the past two weeks alone, 11 civilians have been killed in terror operations — with five among them being non-locals. The total number of civilians killed during this year, as of now, has reached 33, equaling the total of last year. Shockingly, the number of civilian killings has outnumbered military killings this year — an unprecedented trend in recent history. This clearly indicates a shift in the focus of terrorist and militant groups. Their anger outburst is clearly vented towards the non-local residents of Kashmir. The crackdown on militants by Jammu and Kashmir police is running parallel to the intensified targeted civilian killings of the terror groups. The current situation reflects some other new trends as well. More loosely defined outfits have come to the fore that are relatively hard to trace. The Resistance Front (TRF) — believed to be an affiliate of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — has claimed responsibility for most of the recent attacks. As the NIA and Jammu and Kashmir police have raided the sites of militant operations and seized big weapons, the outfits are using smaller weapons such as pistols. These loosely defined terror groups with their unorganized weapon systems pose no less a threat than larger and well-organized outfits. At the same time, terror group Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has not only claimed responsibility for some of the attacks but also threatened more such attacks in the future. Many also believe these attacks are supported by Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. The killings of non-locals have been condemned by all sections of Kashmir polity. Former CM Mehbooba Mufti, while condemning the killings of innocent non-locals, highlighted "the need to reach out to the people of J&K by initiating a constructive dialogue". She also hoped the government to "realize that its policies have been a monumental failure in J&K". The merciless attack on locals is also being attributed to the abrogation of Article 370 of Indian Constitution and revision to the land law bill which allows the non-locals to buy land in Jammu and Kashmir. It would be interesting to see what approach the government adopts to deal with the situation. The top Central leadership has hitherto largely been silent over the issue. Whether it will pay heed to Mufti's advice to engage constructively with people, or it will continue with its crackdown measures in raiding and detaining militants and suspects? Or, will it take some mean path? The narrative thus far from the part of the administration has been that the crackdown on militants has pushed them to the fringe, making them take desperate actions. This obviously shows full confidence of the administration in its ability to curb militancy and terror in Jammu and Kashmir through a high-handed approach. While none should doubt the intent and capability of administration in dealing with the situation in whatever manner it deems fit, any action should be taken with utmost responsibility. There are two particular things to be noted here: first, even the life of a single civilian cannot be gambled upon, and second, the government should not fall into the trap of underestimating these so-called 'hybrid' terror groups. Notorious elements are waiting to leverage every single opportunity to harm Indian interests. They won't give a second thought in emboldening these seemingly smaller outfits. The terror groups have already succeeded in their attempts and the objective to instill terror among non-local Kashmiri civilians, forcing them to flee the land they went in search of opportunities. The government should remain firm in its intent to mitigate terror from Jammu and Kashmir, but the current situation demands a very careful approach. The government should assess all available options meticulously and make calculated moves as the adversary is not bound by rules and values. War against terror in Kashmir is still a long game. Hasty moves may tangle up things.