Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a sudden spike in militancy-related violence and encounters following the successful conduct of assembly elections in the region, particularly after Omar Abdullah assumed charge as the union territory’s maiden chief minister last month.
The high-stakes polls witnessed significant voter turnout across the UT and concluded with the National Conference getting the magic numbers and forming the government. Held in multiple phases from September 18 to October 28, the elections were the first since the abrogation of Article 370, which gave the region special constitutional status.
With incidents like the grenade attack at Srinagar's Sunday market, the ambush on an army convoy near Gulmarg in Baramulla, and the targeted attack at a private company's camp in the Ganderbal district that killed six construction workers and a doctor, violence seems to have returned to its past darker phase in the valley.
Casualties reported in these incidents included civilians, security force personnel, and militants. At least 18 people were killed in militancy-related incidents across the UT in October, while November saw more killings so far than total killings last month.
Officials say that in seven major incidents across the region in October, the total death toll included 10 civilians, two security personnel, and six militants. Although official figures for November are yet to be compiled, media reports say that at least 11 major incidents of violence and encounters took place this month so far in which over 16 persons were killed, including civilians.
At least three encounters also took place in the last 24 hours, including one in Kishtwar, second in Baramula’s Sopore, and third in the Zabarwan Forest area of Srinagar. An army officer was killed in Kishtwar while a militant was killed during the Sopore encounter.
On Friday, police recovered the bodies of two Village Defence Guards, who were abducted and later killed by unidentified militants in Kishtwar, highlighting the ongoing security concerns in the UT.
A senior police officer attributed the surge in attacks to attempts by militant groups to disturb peace. “After the successful conduct of Assembly elections in J&K, militants are again trying to disturb the region's peace. Security forces, with enhanced technological and human surveillance, are foiling these plans, but the militants have resorted to targeting both local and non-local civilians," he had told ETV Bharat, wishing anonymity.
He added that security had been beefed up across the sensitive places, particularly infrastructural projects.
Sharing details of October's major incidents, the official said: “On October 5, security forces thwarted an infiltration attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) in Gugaldhar area (north Kashmir's Kupwara district), resulting in the killing of two militants. The infiltration attempts continued on October 19, when another militant was killed by security forces in the Kamalkote area (Uri) of north Kashmir's Baramulla district.”
The official further said, “The attacks escalated on October 18 with the shooting of Ashok Chauhan, a 30-year-old non-local from Bihar, by unidentified militants in Wandana Melhora area (south Kashmir's Shopian district). This incident underscored the targeted nature of recent attacks against civilians, particularly non-locals."
October's deadliest militancy-related incident occurred on October 20 in the Gagangeer area near the Z-Morh tunnel (Central Kashmir's Ganderbal district). According to the official, militants from The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) killed Dr Shahnawaz, a local doctor, and six labourers, a mix of local and non-local workers, including Faheem Nazir, Kaleem, Mohammad Hanif, Shashi Abrol, Anil Shukla, and Gurmeet Singh. Five others were injured.
"The attacks continued with an ambush on an Army vehicle on October 24 in the Buta Pathri (Gulmarg) area near the LoC in Baramulla district. Two Army personnel and two civilian porters were killed, and three other soldiers sustained injuries. The People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), an offshoot of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), claimed responsibility for it,” the official said.
He said that from October 28 to 29, three militants were killed in a two-day encounter in a forested area near Assan Temple, Jogwan village, in the Battal-Khour region close to the LoC in Jammu's Akhnoor sector.
The official claimed that from October 28 to 29, three militants were killed in a two-day gunfight in a forest near Assan Temple, Jogwan village, in the Battal-Khour region near the LoC in Jammu's Akhnoor sector.
The back-to-back incidents triggered concerns about the deteriorating security situation in J&K and raised questions about the timing of these incidents. It also pointed towards alleged attempts from across the border to restore focus on Kashmir.
Following a grenade attack on Sunday market, which injured at least 12 civilians, CM Omar called the attack “deeply disturbing” and urged the security forces to end “the recent surge in violence”.
Speaking in the assembly, he stated that J&K’s current situation could have been averted if the BJP government had embraced BJP stalwart and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's approach to dialogue and reconciliation.
He also lauded Vajpayee's dedication to dialogue and his efforts to ease tensions in the region under the spirit of his famous slogan "Jhamoriyat, Kashmiriyat aur Insaniyat.
The National Conference President Farooq Abdullah sought an inquiry into the spike in militant attacks in the valley since CM Omar was sworn in. He said, “Some elements were trying to destabilise an elected government.”
“There should be an investigation as to how these are taking place after government formation. I have doubts that perhaps it is being done by those who want to destabilise this government. Why were not these taking place before? Why are they happening now? There should be an independent inquiry,” Abdullah said as the encounter was raging in the Khanyar area of Srinagar.
NC’s alliance partner Congress also raised suspicion over the timing of the attacks in the Kashmir valley. “It is a matter of grave concern and the timing of it is very suspicious because we had very peaceful elections. Before the elections, we had a very peaceful time, and immediately after the elections, all this has started,” J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra had told PTI Videos.
“It is concerning that it (terror attacks) has started only after elections,” he added.
NC leader and MP Aga Rahullah Mehdi slammed the BJP regime for its repeated security failures and questioned the sudden rise in attacks following the recent elections.
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