Two ghastly incidents within less than 24 hours have exposed the precarious security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. On November 11, motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on a CRPF checkpoint in Kulgam, injuring three personnel. In a separate incident in Kishtwar, two special police officers were abducted and subsequently found dead with bullet wounds.
The audacity and precision of these attacks suggest that militancy is far from eliminated and that militants retain the capacity to strike at will when an opportunity presents itself. Significantly, both attacks targeted security personnel rather than innocent civilians. Indeed, they amount to a slap in the face of the central government and the administration in Jammu and Kashmir, who have repeatedly projected a return to normalcy.
There appears to be a certain smugness among the security establishment that militancy is on the retreat. The latest incidents should dispel any such complacency. The militants are home-grown, familiar with the terrain, and, apparently, capable of moving about without attracting suspicion.
Intelligence Gathering Needs Strengthening
An excessive reliance on armed personnel, surveillance, and combing operations, without an equally robust network of informers and intelligence gathering, can prove suicidal. It is difficult to believe that armed militants could plan and execute such operations without leaving behind clues that an effective intelligence network could have picked up.
The security forces must review their methods and identify the weaknesses that enabled the attackers to strike. Equally important is the need to take ordinary people into confidence. Security cannot be sustained merely through the presence of armed personnel; it requires the cooperation of the local population.
People must feel that the administration is responsive to their concerns and that their lives and dignity matter. Alienating them through excessive force or treating the entire population with suspicion will only widen the gulf between the government and the governed.
Restore Democratic Governance In J&K
There is also a larger political question that cannot be wished away. When the erstwhile state of J&K was bifurcated in 2019, the people were assured that the bifurcation was temporary.
The prolonged delay has neither strengthened democratic institutions nor brought tangible benefits to the people. Instead, it has deprived them of an elected government with meaningful powers and left crucial decisions in the hands of the Lieutenant Governor.
The time has come to restore the state’s unified status and give its people a genuine stake in their governance. An elected government, accountable to the legislature, is indispensable to rebuilding public confidence. The centre cannot expect lasting peace while keeping the people away from the decision-making process.
The latest attacks should prompt an urgent and comprehensive review of the security situation as well as the political arrangement. Human lives cannot be sacrificed at the altar of administrative complacency and intelligence failure.
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