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Home ministry figures give lie to Centre's claim on containing militancy in J&K

George Iype in New Delhi

A Union home ministry report on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir belies the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government's claim that the troubled state has returned to normalcy after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition came to power at the Centre.

The number of security personnel who were killed and injured during 1998 has significantly gone up, compared to the 1997 figures. While 186 securitymen were killed in 1997, the casualty figure for 1998 was 234.

However, the number of civilian casualties has decreased, from 938 in 1997 to 833 in 1998.

The ministry report foresees an escalation of militant activities in the next three months. It states that militant attacks are likely to be directed at security forces, police informers, political activists and government servants.

Officials said the home ministry has submitted the report to the Prime Minister's Office. The PMO and the home ministry will soon discuss the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and security officials.

According to the report, the number of badly injured security personnel during the anti-insurgency operations has gone up in 1998. While in 1997, the total injured securitymen numbered 390, there have been 461 cases of injury in 1998.

However, the report states that the number of violent incidents like bomb blasts and other forms of militant attacks has come down from 3,420 in 1997 to 2,811 in 1998.

The government's anti-insurgency operations against Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir have not been as successful as it was in 1997. Nine hundred and fifty terrorists were killed in 1998 against 1,075 militants killed in 1997.

According to the report, the Chithi Derri forests in Rajouri in Jammu is one of the terrorist-infected areas in the state.

"Our internal assessment of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir proves that terrorist activities in the state have been increasing despite the central government's pro-active policy," a senior home ministry official told Rediff On The NeT.

According to the ministry report, he said the number of foreign mercenaries operating in the state is increasing every month. "In 1998 some 300 foreign mercenaries were killed according to our information," the official stated.

He said the ministry is now preparing a detailed report on the "new violence profile" of terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. "Earlier militants used to target the civilian population. Now their strategy is to concentrate on the security forces and army and police posts," the official added.

Home ministry officials in charge of Jammu and Kashmir point out that there has been a dramatic shift in the modus operandi of militant operations. The militants now operate with high-tech gadgets that enables them to target mobile or stationary establishments within a radius of less than two kilometres.

Security forces recently recovered a lethal device -- two remote control Aerodynamic Modules with a powerful engine -- from militant hideouts in Rajouri area.

Intelligence reports reveal that the infiltration of militants and weapons from across the Indo-Pak border nearly tripled in the past year.

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