Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 16: After meeting Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Jammu and New Delhi yesterday, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat today called on National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in the Union capital and had detailed discussion with him on security situation in the Kashmir Valley.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Rawat briefed Doval on emerging situation in the Kashmir valley, where law and order problem in the form of stone pelting on security forces and local people has become a regular phenomenon, thus, hampering search and anti-militancy operations undertaken by the security personnel.
Recent videos, which have surfaced after Srinagar Parliamentary seat by-polling on April 9, also figured during the voting but, according to sources, the major focus was on devising strategy to counter infiltration attempts, militancy in the hinterland and tackling increasing incidents of stone pelting by the youth in which several civilian lives have been lost recently.
Gen Rawat’s meeting with Doval comes a day after he had separate deliberations with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor N N Vohra over the law and order situation in Kashmir and steps required to strengthen Counter-Infiltration and Counter-Militancy Grids in the Kashmir valley.
The Army chief called on Doval at his residence and briefed him about the overall state of security in the Kashmir valley. The meeting lasted nearly an hour in which strategy to keep the Valley cool in the summer was discussed. The focus, according to sources, was on to avoid civilian casualties but, at the same time, ensure that the militants didn’t manage to escape under the cover of stone pelting by the mob as had happened in some cases in the past.
While Army’s role would remain confined to Line of Control (LoC) to tackle infiltration attempts and ensure that number of militants didn’t increase in the hinterland due to intrusions, sources said some specific operations could be carried out against the militants jointly by Army and police.
Sources said the Centre and the State Governments were concerned over April 9 poll day violence in Budgam and increasing incident of youths targeting security forces with stones during encounters with the militants, creating problem in the anti-militancy operations. In some of the cases, the militants had managed to escape in view of restraint exercised by security forces to avert civilian casualties.
Sources said internal security situation in the Kashmir valley, which has shown signs of revival of 2016 like summer unrest with eight killings on Srinagar Lok Sabha seat election- day violence and prior to that three civilian deaths in Chadoora and incidents of stone pelting was high on agenda of the Centre and State Governments especially with regard to role of security forces in such a situation.
Added to it were the reports of ever increasing strength of militants at launching pads along Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir with the backing of Pakistan army and Pakistan-based militant outfits of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). Early this week, Army had gunned down four militants along the LoC in Keran sector when they were trying to infiltrate into the Kashmir valley.
Asserting that Army, para-military forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police were monitoring situation developing along the borders as well as hinterland, sources said there was unanimity among security forces for strengthening Counter-Infiltration and Counter-Militancy Grids in Jammu and Kashmir. For the purposes, all security agencies have already geared-up themselves.
Sources said the role of the Army in hinterland was confined to anti-militancy operations while para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir Police would deal with any kind of law and order situation developing in the Valley.
The Centre and the State Governments wanted Army to curb infiltration attempts by the militants at the LoC itself so that strength of the militants didn’t go up in the Kashmir valley. The infiltration of the militants during 2016 was stated to be very high as compared to 2015.
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