Increased terrorist attacks in the Jammu region raise the alarm bell for intelligence agencies; Security forces need professional planning in the R-P range

Increased terrorist attacks in the Jammu region raise the alarm bell for intelligence agencies; Security forces need professional planning in the R-P range

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH/RAJOURI/REASI: During the last three years, terrorists have shown their presence heavily in the Rajouri-Poonch belt and recently in the Reasi district, where a bus was targeted by the terrorists, in which nine people were killed and 34 injured. Terrorists hit the Rajouri-Poonch region many times during the last three years. From Dhangri, BG1, and BG2 (Bhatadurian) terrorist attacks to DKG and at various locations in Rajouri and Reasi districts, security forces have not shown the desired output.

Those who were responsible for different terrorist attacks are still not traceable, and this raised a big question mark about the coordination between different security establishments. Terrorists used to come occasionally, and after hitting their targets, they used to flee away by taking shelter in dense forest cover. The dense forest cover in Poonch and Rajouri districts is seen as a big stumbling block for security forces to act heavily against terrorists. The way a number of attacks were carried out in the Rajouri-Poonch belt, the support of local OGWs isn’t ruled out, as without local support, terrorists cannot plan their operations successfully, said a source close to intelligence agencies. Reports available with “POONCH TODAY” say that for any generated input, the coordination between different security agencies is not robust. No efforts were made from any quarter to generate local intelligence through sources, and this has caused a massive loss to security forces in their war against terrorism. Due to a poor intelligence grid and a lack of coordination between different wings, this has increased the confidence of terrorist organizations, which is why they are attacking security forces and locals at different places in the Jammu region. Due to the lack of strong police performance against the perpetrators of terrorist attacks in Rajouri and Poonch, which led to heavy army casualties, the morale of people, especially minorities, has come down heavily. They believe that terrorists seem to have activated themselves in the Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts by taking shelter in dense forest cover, and this factor, including tough terrain, gives terrorists an advantage. The surge in recent terrorist attacks in various parts of the Jammu region is also a cause for great concern for the people. Locals believe that if another operation like Sarp Vinash is planned to eradicate militancy from the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch by demolishing the terror network, including its OGWs and local support modules, then it will surely pave the way for the return of peace in the region. The ‘once in a blue moon’ attacking strategy of the terrorists has proved successful as it doesn’t give clues to security agencies to identify and hit terrorists in all the operations, especially in the Rajouri-Poonch range. The role of ADGP Jammu and DIG Rajouri-Poonch range has come under discussion on various public platforms as they have failed to plan a big and result-oriented approach to tackle the revival of terrorism, especially in the Rajouri-Poonch range, for which they need self-introspection. Now, by touching Reasi district and showing their presence in Samba, Kathua, and Doda districts, terrorists seem to be working under a big plan to destabilize peace in the entire Jammu region. Although Reasi police have started the investigation into the case, it is likely that those who were involved and provided any kind of support to the terrorists will be brought to justice. Meanwhile, the inability of police in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch to bring perpetrators of various terrorist attacks to book has raised a big question mark on the intelligence gathering modules of police. Moreover, a robust policy from the police to hunt down terrorists and their OGWs in the Rajouri-Poonch region has not been seen by anybody, and it’s not a good thing from an internal security point of view. Lack of strong results against terrorism from police in the region has lowered the morale of the people, especially the minorities. Security forces, JKP, and intelligence agencies also need to ensure their internal scanning to detect cases of probable internal security compromise acts, and if this is the case, then it is really a cause of big concern from an internal security point of view. The people of the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch have been waiting for the last three years to witness performance-oriented results against the revival of terrorism, but the lack of results from the security forces has put everybody on tenterhooks. However, the Home Minister Amit Shah, during a crucial meeting on J&K’s situation the other day, directed the security forces to take stronger action against militancy. The DGP of J&K Police, R.R. Swain, also said that terrorists and their support structures will be dealt with  an iron hand. Although the government has given hints of strong action, accordingly, an all-out war against terrorism in the Jammu region should be started by placing strong men in the army, police, and intelligence setup; otherwise, the terrorists will make things worse in the entire Jammu region, especially in the Poonch-Rajouri-Reasi range. With the full backing of the union government, it’s high time for the ADGP Jammu, DIG R-P range, and SSPs of Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi to form a high-level strategy to nip the evil in the bud; otherwise, these sensitive districts may witness the old days of terrorism again.