Jammu and Kashmir adapts security deployment as twin districts return to terror radar focus

New Delhi, August 19: Despite experiencing the lowest levels of cross-border infiltration this year, security agencies have sounded an alert regarding increased activity at the Line of Control (LoC) in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. There has been a notable surge in infiltration attempts, according to officials.

"While it cannot be denied that infiltration is ongoing from these areas, the probability of another group slipping through undetected is relatively high, even if security forces are thwarting attempts," revealed a senior field officer.

This official indicated that Pakistan's strategy seems to hinge on persistence. Even if a significant number of infiltrators are neutralised in encounters—say 20 to 30 per cent—Pakistan may continue to push more terrorists. He further emphasised that the all-weather route, coupled with the region's proximity to the valley, works in their favour.

The mounting casualties in the past couple of years have compelled security agencies to revisit their plans.

The government's records indicate that since October 21, 2021, a total of 26 security personnel—including three officers, five paratroopers, and seven civilians—have lost their lives in these districts.

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Furthermore, intelligence agencies have alerted ground-level security forces to the increased rate of infiltration attempts.

"Cordon and search operations are now a daily occurrence. News of encounters and casualties keeps circulating," shared Dhiraj Sharma, the Sarpanch of Dangri village in Rajouri.

This region had relatively stabilised since the mid-2000s, following its tumultuous insurgency-laden years in the late 1990s. However, the twin district has recently witnessed escalating violence.

"After the Galwan incident, troop strength in this area was reduced, but now recalculations are being made," disclosed a high-ranking officer.

This source indicated that terrorists are focusing on the Rajouri-Poonch belt within the Pir Panjal region, driven by "setbacks in Kashmir."

"More assertive cordon and search operations based on intelligence inputs are being executed," the officer explained.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha alluded to a fresh strategy being devised by security and intelligence agencies to restore tranquility in the twin border districts.

Significantly, the recent Human Rights Report issued by the Forum of Human Rights for Jammu and Kashmir also underlined this development.

"After decades of calm, the border areas of Poonch and Rajouri districts in the Jammu division are witnessing a resurgence of militancy, backed by cross-border support from Pakistan-controlled territories of the former state," the report stated.

The report, composed by a panel of 18 members including former Home Secretary GK Pillai, former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, and Radha Kumar, former interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir, also highlighted the 2022 delimitation of legislative constituencies. This delimitation added Poonch and Rajouri of the Jammu region to Kashmir's Anantnag, potentially deepening the alienation faced by these Muslim-majority areas due to escalating communal divisions in Jammu.

"Mounting weaponisation through Jammu's village defense guards—a problematic policy flagged by the Forum in its 2022 report—has exacerbated insecurity in the region. The 2023 Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled Tribes (Amendment) Bill, which has set Paharis against Gujjars and other listed scheduled tribes of the region, has also fueled instability," the report concluded.

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- With inputs from agencies

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