Jammu & Kashmir- Security Forces Intensify Anti-Militancy Operations

Security forces intensify anti-militancy operations, signalling troubled days ahead for the valley.

- Tariq Bhat

After ending the Ramzan ceasefire on anti-militancy operations and withdrawing support to the People's Democratic Party, the BJP government sent a contingent of the National Security Guard to Jammu and Kashmir to back up the security forces already in action. Moreover, to signal its intent of intensifying operations, the Army issued a list of the 21 most wanted militants. Last June, the Army had released a list of 12 militants after it launched Operation All Out. By the end of 2017, it had killed 11.

Speaking at a youth festival in Baramulla, Lieutenant General A.K. Bhatt, the general officer commanding of the 15 Corps, said the NSG would be deployed along with the state police in Srinagar. Currently, 100 NSG commandos have been positioned at the Border Security Force station near Srinagar, and are awaiting deployment.

The NSG, however, is not trained to fight militants. In fact, sources said that the Army doesn't believe the NSG would in any way help the anti-militancy operations. The NSG usually carries out specific operations like handling hostage situations, hijackings or clearing buildings occupied by militants.

Sources said that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had ordered the deployment of the NSG, a move that has been panned by senior security officers in Kashmir.

One of the reasons for sending the NSG to Kashmir was that many of its commandos never get a chance to participate in an operation for years at a time. The NSG was first deployed in 1989 after the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front kidnapped Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of then home minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed. She was let go after the Centre released five JKLF militants. The NSG stayed in Kashmir till 1993.