Civilian killings and attacks on forces came down significantly in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023, J&K Director General of Police (DGP) R.R. Swain said on Saturday in Jammu. In 2024, the police will go after foreign terrorists, whose number is higher than locals, he said.
“There is a significant improvement in the overall security situation in J&K. I admit there is a security situation in Rajouri-Poonch, terrorists don’t hide in houses, they take shelter in caves, forests, and have very, very limited people supporting them. We will deal with it effectively. A strategy has been devised and can’t be discussed in public,” DGP Swain said.
Elaborating on the achievements made on the security front this year in the Union Territory, Mr. Swain said the number of active terrorists had come down to double digits – 31 – with four active terrorists in the Jammu region. “The figure is at an all-time low,” he said.
A total of 76 terrorists, including 55 foreigners, were killed in anti-militancy operations in J&K this year. Against 31 targeted attacks on civilians in 2022, this year saw 14 such incidents, the top police officer said.
The recruitment, according to DGP Swain, is also very low, with only 20 being recruited into militant ranks against 130 in 2022. “There is an 80 per cent decline in overall terrorist recruitment,” the DGP said.
He sees the rising number of foreign terrorists as a threat for the year 2024. “The number of foreign terrorists is obviously more than the locals. In 2024, we will be taking on foreign terrorists and our top priority will be that not a single life of a civilian or a security forces personnel goes waste,” the DGP said, adding “police will act as a protective machine”.
The police officer underlined how shutdown calls and stone throwing had come to “zero”. “The common man has stopped endorsing the hartal calls (of separatists),” the DGP said.
Official figures said four policemen were also killed in 2023. Mr. Swain said 324 people responsible for fomenting trouble have been identified. “This small number won’t be allowed to hijack 1.4 crore people of J&K,” he added.
Ninety-nine properties of separatists and militants have been attached this year. “A total of 201 overground workers were booked under the Public Safety Act. Eighty-nine terror modules were busted, 78 in Kashmir and 11 in Jammu,” Mr. Swain said.
High points
The DGP highlighted the high points of 2023 and pointed to events such as the national conference on legal services, G-20 meet, peaceful Amarnath Yatra and the annual Muharram procession, which was allowed after 34 years.
On former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s allegation that she not being allowed to meet families of those who died allegedly in Army detention in Poonch, the DGP said, “The job of the police is to ensure that the visit is not leveraged in a malicious manner.”
