Situation in J&K peaceful but troops need to stay put: Chinar Chops commander
Chinar Chops commander said the army has tried hard to guard the borders, nix the numerous attempts at infiltration by inimical elements while also simultaneously executing a successful counter terrorist campaign within Kashmir valley
While maintaining that the militant numbers in Kashmir valley has come down to 80, the outgoing General Officer Commanding (GoC) of army’s 15 Corps, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai on Thursday said the situation in the valley was peaceful and stable for the past two years. However, he stressed that the challenge for security forces was to keep the situation the way it is, hence the need for the army to stay put.
Addressing a press conference at Chinar Corps headquarters in Srinagar, Ghai said the army has tried hard to guard the borders, nix the numerous attempts at infiltration by inimical elements while also simultaneously executing a successful counter terrorist campaign within Kashmir valley.
“The security situation in the state for the better part of the past two years has been very peaceful and stable. If you look at all the parameters against when you weigh such a situation, they have all been down. Terrorism today is largely fuelled across the borders, that much is very clear. We haven’t had any active [militant] recruitment over the last year and a half. The numbers, last year, were down to a dozen and this year, they are almost next to nil. The other ‘violence’ parameters in terms of atrocities by terrorists, if we look at 4-5 incidents in the valley like softer targets using smaller weapons, the numbers are almost negligible,” he said.
Lieutenant General Prashant Shrivastava is replacing Ghai as GoC of 15 Corps from October 15.
Ghai said the region was on the cusp of a new beginning as over the last year and a half numerous significant events took place and a lot of development.
“In my view this has been facilitated by a stable security situation brought about by significant efforts by Chinar corps and sister agencies like J&K police, CAPF and numerous other security agencies,” he said.
However, he was quick to add that the challenge is to maintain the situation.
“In my view Kashmir had a good year just as it bid last year. But we need a few good years like this for the peace to be enduring and lasting. And that I feel is the biggest challenge of security forces to be able to keep the situation the way it is today,” he said.
The army commander said whether it was the counter infiltration grid on the line of control or the counter terrorism grid in the valley, it has to be maintained and sustained. “We are in the consolidation phase and no dilution of the grid is recommended,” he said when asked if there was any chance of thinning the army numbers.
Commenting about the militant numbers, Ghai said that the official number of militants in Kashmir valley was approximately 80.
“That is the lowest in many years. When I came here last year, we were looking at numbers past the 100 figure mark. That figure has come down. Obviously, that figure is sustained by the perpetrators at a certain number which is considered critical to sustain the terrorism ecosystem here. It has been the endeavour of the security forces to actively and aggressively bring these numbers down. I think we have succeeded,” he said.
He exuded hope that the number will further come down. “I am quite confident that the way we are going ahead and prosecuting our operations in a manner…I think these numbers will keep going down. Maybe by the mid of next year we could be looking at a lesser number,” he hoped.
The Lieutenant General suspected a change in strategy by the opponents across the border in terms of infiltration from Jammu region rather than from Kashmir. “Has the strategy changed? This is evident that infiltration can happen from other areas besides Line of Control and perhaps, this year it has happened. That is why you see numbers have increased in the Jammu region because that area was always peaceful. The strategy change (from across) is that we were monitoring launch pads (from Kashmir side) but the infiltration attempts, perhaps successful attempts, were made from somewhere else.”
“That is why we are seeing that numbers have perhaps slightly increased. But I am confident that those numbers will also start to come down because we have started getting intelligence [inputs],” he further stressed.
During the recent operations in Pir Panjal region in Jammu, he said, they have enough hints that the perpetrators were Pakistani terrorists, adding, “I don’t agree with the notion that Pakistani terrorists were not here. In north Kashmir in recent operations Pakistani terrorists were killed.”
He said that the number of foreign terrorists in the valley were around 25 to 40. “They could be anywhere from 25 to 40. It is not a big number. If an area is peaceful and these terrorists are there, it takes some time for the counter terrorist grid to mature. For now, that grid has been established. And intelligence has started to come and I hope there will be successful operations in the coming days,” he said.
The GoC said they were keeping a watch if the global conflicts will have any effect in the valley. “As far as conflicts that are on-going across the world, some of the events had some negligible impact like we have some protests even within the valley. Right now , we would not have any indication that any of those could precipitate into a very concerning situation. However, those conflicts are becoming more and more intense as the days go by. So we will have to keep a close watch and monitor and make sure that none of them had any adverse impact on the security situation in our region,” he said.
Ghai said their intelligence inputs didn’t suggest any particular scenario unfolding after October 8 (election results). “We have a democratic process after 10 years and I am sure it is for the good. The percentages and turnouts have been very encouraging. We always consider the situation as dynamic. From time to time we have to keep reviewing whether the situation is peaceful or whether all parameters are constant. No, they keep changing from time to time and we keep a watch on those parameters. Should a situation give an indication of arising, I assure you we will be prepared for it,” he said.
The GoC said the ceasefire between Indian and Pakistani armies that came into effect in 2021 was very much intact. “ The situation at that time was tenuous with northern China and at that point in time, that was the most apt thing to do. So that tension could be kept under a threshold so far as LoC and western borders are concerned. It is very much sustaining and there are certain tenets to that understanding which both the sides follow. Every now and then, If any side has any exception to any activity those are brought to notice,” he said.