The Centre on Sunday decided to call off suspension of operations against terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir and directed the security forces to take all “necessary actions” to prevent them from launching attacks.

The Amarnath Yatra will commence on June 28 and the security forces will now adopt a pro-active approach to deter terrorists from disrupting the annual pilgrimage. While political parties in Jammu & Kashmir described as “disappointing” the Centre’s announcement of not extending the ceasefire in the State, the PDP said there was very little it could do as peace is a two-way traffic.

The Home Ministry on May 17 had halted all anti-terrorist operations for a month as a goodwill gesture during Ramzan. The security forces, including the Army, paramilitary, and local police, were ordered to exercise restraint during the period in an effort to avoid harassment to the peace-loving devout. However, there was no let-up in

violence during this period forcing the Government to review its stand.

All cordon and search operations (CASO) and Seek and Destroy Operations (SADO) were suspended and the Army was asked not to go after ultras in the hinterland. The terrorist organisations, including Hizbul Mujahideen, Laskhar-e-Tayyebba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), rejected the peace effort, leading to spike in the levels of violence and giving a breather to the terrorists to regroup and rearm themselves.

Against this backdrop and threat to the forthcoming yatra, the Government reviewed the situation last week and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed about the situation on Friday by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Putting to rest speculation about extension of ceasefire for some more months, the Home Minister on Sunday said in a statement, “Security forces are being directed to take all necessary actions as earlier to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence and killings.”

However, he made it clear the Government will continue with its endeavour to create an environment free of terror and violence in the State. “It is important that all sections of peace-loving people come together to isolate the terrorists and motivate those who have been misguided to return to the path of peace,” he said.

He commended the role of security forces for having implemented the decision in letter and spirit in the face of grave provocation to enable the Muslim brothers and sisters to observe Ramzan in a peaceful manner.

“This has been widely appreciated by the people all over the country, including Jammu & Kashmir, and has brought relief to the common citizens,” Singh said, adding it was expected that everyone will cooperate in ensuring the success of this initiative. “While the security forces have displayed exemplary restraint during this period, the terrorists have continued with their attacks, on civilians and security forces, resulting in deaths and injuries,” Singh said.

According to officials, there were 18 incidents of terror between April 17 to May 17 this year and the figure rose to above 50 during the suspension of operations. Matters came to a head when eminent journalist Shujaat Bukhari, a votary of peace, was gunned down by terrorists on Thursday last in Srinagar leading to condemnation from all sections of society including political parties. The same day an Army soldier Aurangzeb was abducted and shot dead by ultras while he was proceeding on leave to celebrate Eid with his family in Poonch.

These incidents cast a shadow on the Amarnath Yatra and the security forces in their brief to the Government expressed fear of terrorists launching grenade attacks on convoys of pilgrims and security forces besides exploding improvised explosive devices (IED), officials said.

A pro-active approach in the Kashmir hinterland to keep the ultras on the run was the need of the hour to deter them from disrupting the yatra. However, if the ceasefire was extended, the security forces expressed apprehensions of terrorists moving around freely and likely also to carry out stand-off attacks during that period. The annual pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Amarnath covers nearly 400 km. The entire route is dotted with ‘langars (community kitchens)’ and temporary shelters for the pilgrims.

The route is sanitised and the pilgrims are provided a security umbrella in a three-tier grid. While the Army has already two additional battalions (one battalion has 1,000 soldiers) on the two routes to the shrine, nearly 200 additional companies (one company has 100 personnel) of para-military forces are now taking designated positions in consultation with the Jammu & Kashmir police.

Justifying the decision to end ceasefire, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh said, “We have to take the decision in the right spirit. The Home Ministry has taken note of all the inputs available and decided that suspension of operation, which was carried out for one month, will no longer continue.”

“I think the immediate priority for all of us is conducting the upcoming Amarnath Yatra in peaceful and successful manner and for that not only the Government but also the civil society will have to extend cooperation and we will have to ensure that nothing happens that will disrupt the Amarnath Yatra and discourage the pilgrims who come from far and wide,” he told TV channels.

The ruling PDP said while the party was also disappointed, there was very little it could do as peace is a two-way traffic.

“Peace is a two-way traffic, it is not one way. We tried everything from our side. Is there any CBM (confidence building measure) which we or Mehbooba did not work on? Stone-pelters were given amnesty, their cases, in thousands, were revoked, even those who were booked in 2010 by the then NC Government.

“There was a dialogue process. Even Union Home Minister mentioned talks with Hurriyat by taking their name. What else could we have done? PDP general secretary Peerzada Mansoor said.

Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took a dig at some State BJP leaders who were upbeat about the calling off of the unilateral ceasefire. In his tweet, Omar wrote it was “the Centre’s initiative and yet these people are celebrating its failure as if it had been announced by our enemies. It’s failure is the failure of everyone who wanted to give peace a chance.”

CPI(M) leader and MLA Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami termed it as an opportunity lost and regretted that the Centre had to call off the unilateral ceasefire. “I know the grave risks involved in announcing such a decision ahead of Ramzan and would have hoped for some more confidence building measures for creating a viable environment for political dialogue,” he said.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Monday, 18 June 2018 | PNS | New Delhi