Indian security forces have achieved great success in the Akhnoor area of Jammu where after an army convoy was attacked on Monday the security forces killed three terrorists on Tuesday afternoon. Weapons and ammunition have been recovered from the killed terrorists. It may be noted that on Monday morning, terrorists attacked an army ambulance in Akhnoor’s Jogwan area.
It may be noted that for the past few months, there have been several reports of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier on Thursday (October 24), terrorists had targeted the army then the terrorists opened fire on an army vehicle near Gulmarg where 2 soldiers were martyred and a coolie also lost his life. Additionally, in the last two weeks, 5 terrorist attacks have taken place in Baramulla, Tral, Shopian, Akhnoor and Ganderbal. 3 soldiers have been martyred in these. The terrorists also killed 8 people who had come from other states for work.
Reasons for sudden spurt in terror attacks
For the past one year, attempts of infiltration have increased in Jammu and Kashmir, especially North Kashmir. Districts like Bandipora, Kupwara, Baramulla and Kishtwar in North Kashmir all have been affected by terrorism. The Pakistani terrorists who want to spoil the atmosphere of peace and stability through these attacks, taking advantage of long periods of peace and reduced deployment have now started infiltrating from the Line of Control. The Pakistani terrorists take advantage of the areas having dense hilly forests where visibility is very low and attack the security forces and then run away into the forest and hide in the hideouts built in this area.
Additionally, some experts believe that these repeated ambushes on security forces are due to the redeployment of troops to LAC in Eastern Ladakh following the 2020 standoff with China. Another big reason for the attacks is that India has had a ceasefire with Pakistan since 2021 and Pakistan is continuously taking advantage of it. As now the Line of Control is calm it has become easier for Pakistan to infiltrate terrorists in this area. Experts say that this is another reason that the terrorist network which was almost destroyed in Jammu and Kashmir at one time has become active again. As the winter season is about to start in J&K it is the right time for the terrorists to infiltrate as infiltration is difficult in the cold. This is the reason why incidents of infiltration have increased in recent times.
Terrorist attacks stopped during elections
It is worth mentioning here that the results of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections were declared on October 8 and 10 days later, from October 18, a series of terrorist attacks started in the valley. The same pattern was seen after the Lok Sabha elections as well. The results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared on 4 June and 5 days later, since June 9, a series of terrorist attacks began. In just 30 days, 7 terrorist attacks took place in Jammu after the LS polls.
Terrorist attacks stopped while the elections were going on and experts believe that the reason for the increase in attacks after the elections is the reduction in security forces. They also believe that the terrorists behind the attacks are not local, but those who have infiltrated from Pakistan.
Regarding lesser attacks during elections experts say that a large number of security forces, paramilitary, police, army and other agencies were deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for the elections at every nook and corner. Almost all areas were sealed. During this time, terrorists did not get a chance to attack.
As there was comparative peace in the region the deployment of the army was also relaxed and during this time, the terrorists who had infiltrated made their hideouts in the dense forests and over time some managed to easily set up and strengthen their networks.
Apart from this, terrorists also feel that now as there is a local government once again in J&K they can take chances like before. It may be recalled that the policy of the previous Omar Abdullah government was soft against terrorism and due to this, the morale of the terrorists seems to be increasing once again after Omar returned as CM. However, in Cira 2024 the Modi government will ensure there is no repeat of the previous Omar government because the command of security is still with the Center and the Lieutenant Governor.
