Change Tactics to End Terrorism in J&K

There has been a considerable increase in the terrorist activities in Kashmir that includes the targeted killings and now the grenade attack at the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC).The pattern of violence needs to be understood. Terror outfits are orchestrating a multiple attack system to destabilise the normal life in the valley. On the one hand they are assaulting the non-locals and on the other they are attacking the security installations. Surge in terrorism must be seen in a focussed manner. Terror modules are acting with impunity and are choosing their targets at will. This means that their local support is intact that allows them to act with impunity and create mayhem. It is a well-established fact now that the terrorists from Pakistan make it sure that they are able to sneak into the valley and other parts of Jammu and Kashmir before the snowfall in the mountain passes. After the Akhnoor attack, a top army commander revealed that a considerable number of terrorists are waiting for the opportunity to enter into Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has been making a lot of noises at the international fora that includes the UN where its Prime Minister as usual mentioned Jammu and Kashmir. This is not without reason. Pakistan is based on the policy of anti-India propaganda as its creation was meant to destabilise India using terrorism as the state policy. Over the decades it has cultivated Over Ground Workers (OGWs) in Jammu and Kashmir that enables the terror cartels from Pakistan to engineer various terror attacks. One thing has to be internalised that Pakistan has developed a terror mechanism from 1947 that is meant to grab Jammu and Kashmir by all means. There is an improvisation. Earlier it kept the borders volatile so that terrorists are made to cross over to this side. But it has developed a cost benefit strategy that makes it easier for Pakistan to indulge in plausible deniability. Terrorism in Kashmir is governed by hybrid mode. This means there is a presence of hybrid terrorists who are the creation of the easily available online modules in various forms. These may include various personalised social media groups that indoctrinate the young minds and convert them to a critical mass who then can be motivated to carry out the dreaded acts of terrorism. Technically these individuals have no affiliation with any terror group in the conventional sense but are influenced by radicalisation modules available easily on social media. These are local human resources on which there is not much to be invested by the patrons of terror and neither have they to be made to cross the borders. These hybrid terrorists are among the common masses, which engineer attacks and then converge in the local population. Thus leading to their invincibility. The security grid needs to shun the conventional strategies and adopt the non –conventional asymmetrical tactics to develop new counter terrorism mechanisms that can enable them to nab the terror recruits. War of attrition is being imposed on the innocent people who have no clue about these acts when they are caught in terror attacks. Jammu and Kashmir cannot afford to squander the left over hope of peace as tremendous devastation has been experienced by the people in more than 35 years of terrorism. There is a need to seek counsel from the Jammu and Kashmir experts who are the sons of the soil as they know the nuances. Expertise of these strategists will certainly lead to a mechanism that will mitigate the continuous terror attacks that are causing serious concern. Policy of wait and watch won’t pay any dividends as the enemy has created assets within the society and the system through subversion. One thing cannot be denied that it goes to the credit of the security forces who have shown tremendous alertness and caution while dealing with such grave situations.They have not only eliminated the terrorists but minimised the collateral damage.This needs to be acknowledged that security forces have shown sensitivity and concern in order to save the lives of the innocent people. For this the security forces deserve appreciation from civil society and the common masses.