Multiple anti-militancy operations, covering vast areas dotted with forests and hilly pockets, were launched in the Pir Panjal Valley’s Rajouri and Poonch districts on Monday in the wake of heightened militant activities in the region this year.
The combing operations were jointly launched by the Jammu & Kashmir Police and the Indian Army in Rajouri’s Thanamandi, Suderbani, Kalakote, and Budhal. In Poonch, similar operations, including door-to-door searches, were carried out in Gursai and Mendhar, close to the Line of Control (LoC), officials said.
According to official sources, area domination and anti-militancy drills were held to trace militants hiding in the hilly and forest areas of the two districts (Rajouri and Poonch). Official sources said three locals were being questioned from the Budhal area.
The Army has been employing unmanned aerial vehicles, night-enabled cameras, and other modern equipment to maintain surveillance in these pockets, especially after receiving tip-offs on the movement of militants.
Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command, in November had suggested that 20-25 terrorists might be operating in the region.
Five soldiers, including two Captains, died in the Rajouri encounter on November 22-23. Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants, including a “wanted commander”, were also killed.
On December 2, security forces detected and defused an improvised explosive device weighing five kilos in the Darhal area.
A total of 18 security personnel and 24 militants were killed in multiple gunfights in the Jammu division this year, a cause of concern for the security forces.
The Pir Panjal Valley witnessed a significant thinning of troops after the India and China face-off in Galwan in 2020. However, after the Dangri attack in Rajouri this year, which left seven civilians dead, several companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed in the region.
Of late, the domination of the upper reaches has also been stepped up by increasing the number of soldiers. The Pir Panjal Valley saw an end to militancy by 2005, and was declared a “zero militancy zone” by the security agencies by 2018. However, the region witnessed a sudden increase in militancy in 2020, immediately after the Centre ended J&K’s special status in August 2019.
