On July 24, the Indian Army issued an update in which they stated that Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Naik Dilwar Khan was killed after he was shot during a confrontation with suspected Pakistani terrorists near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir.
“On 24 July, suspicious movement was observed and challenged by vigilant troops, in response to which terrorists opened indiscriminate fire. In the ensuing firefight, one terrorist was eliminated and an NCO was injured. Operation is in progress,” the army said when Khan was shot.
The death of Naik raised the military death toll to eleven in terrorist violence in J&K this month. This raises the question of why there is a sudden surge in terrorist attacks in J&K. On July 23, 28-year-old Lance Naik Subhash Chander from the 7 Jat Regiment, died during a counter-infiltration operation in the Krishna Ghati belt of Poonch district.
On July 15, a Captain and three soldiers from the 10 Rashtriya Rifles were killed in a shootout in Doda district. Five other soldiers from the 22 Garhwal Rifles were in an ambush in Kathua district’s Machedi forest on July 8. These terror attacks have been since Jammu saw 43 terror attacks in 2023, while at least 20 such incidents have been
reported this year.
Here are some of the reasons why the region is witnessing a rise in terror attacks:
Many believed that Pakistan-sponsored terror groups have increased their terror activities in the region by taking advantage of Jammu’s vast and complex terrain. The country has been notorious for facilitating and sending armed militants across the International Border (IB) and beyond the Line of Control (LoC).
While speaking to Firstpost, former Army Commander Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita said that these terror attacks are common when there is normalcy in the region. He put forward his case by citing the high voter turnout in J&K during the Lok Sabha Elections.
“If you see, in the Lok Sabha election there was a 58 per cent voter turnout, which is one of the highest in many decades. There is also some talk of planned Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” the former commander averred.
“So, whenever there is a return to normalcy or signs of it, there are people across the border who want to vitiate the atmosphere and then they start instigating such incidents,” he added.
Extending the aforementioned reason, the rising terror incidents in J&K could be seen as an attempt to prevent the authorities from holding smooth Assembly polls in the Union Territory later this year.
According to a report by India Today, the terror group based in Pakistan have changed their strategy since the abrogation of Article 370. It is believed that the militants are shifting focus from Kashmir Valley, which has a heavy presence of security forces, to Jammu.
Some experts believe that modern technology is helping militant groups find new routes and flame insurgency in new areas. Sometimes there is also difficulty in intelligence gathering in the region.
“The same level of intelligence (both tech and humanity) does not exist in the Jammu region. The terrorists will go for softer targets where there is minimum investment (effort) and maximum output. It means they are hitting temporary outposts and vehicle outposts and even civilians,” Lt Gen (Retd) KJS Dhillon told India Today.
Hence, the terror incident has led security personnel to launch multiple combating operations to counter these recent infiltrations.
With inputs from agencies.
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11 soldiers dead in J&K in just July: 5 reasons why terror attacks have surged
