New Delhi: In a major shift in its counter-insurgency tactics in the Kashmir Valley and a sign of a “no-holds” barred toughening of the rules of engagement, the Army will now fan out into the hinterland in the Valley and operate in a “seeking and engagement” mode, defence sources told this newspaper.
Five sensitive areas in the Valley where incidents of militancy have been rampant recently — Kulgam, Traal, Pulwama, Budgam and Shopian — will be the focus of such operations. Except Budgam, which is near Srinagar, all other areas are in south Kashmir, the latest vortex of recent militant activity.
Abandoned in 2002, the “cordon and search operations” will be kickstarted again and will be a permanent feature of all future Army counter-insurgency operations. This involves cordoning off an area, and asking civilians and locals to step outside their homes while a hunt is carried out for militants and weapons.
“The aim is to go after the terrorists now, get behind them and hit them hard in their camps, in their homes and in their hideouts and shelters,” the sources said.
With many reported cases of militants moving around freely, displaying sophisticated weapons, the counter-insurgency grid is also being rearranged. “We will rearrange deployment patterns in the hinterland so as to control the movement of terrorists as they have been taking advantage of certain gaps in the CI grid,” a source pointed out.
This change in tactics was needed as militants are now believed to be hiding amongst the civil population and of using them as human shields, while many civilians have been found to be harbouring militants.
Quite a few Army operations against militants recently have suffered due to stone-pelting by civilians, enabling the militants to flee in the ensuing melee. The latest incident, where the bullet-riddled body of 22-year-old Indian Army lieutenant Umar Fayyaz Parray was found on Wednesday morning has only hastened the need for a tactical change in operations.
Meanwhile, defence sources on Thursday said that six militants from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen were involved in the abduction and killing of a young Army officer in Shopian district of Kashmir and a massive manhunt has been launched to catch them. Security forces are carrying out searches in various areas to nab the six militants, the source said.
Social media ban
Terming the ban on social media networks in Jammu and Kashmir as “collective punishment”, two United Nations human rights experts on Thursday demanded that it be immediately lifted. In a press release on the official website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, David Kaye and Michel Forst asserted that “the scope of these restrictions has a significantly disproportionate impact on the fundamental rights of everyone in Kashmir.”
