From Sarpvinash to Sarvshakti in the Pir Panjal

Rajouri- Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir has been kept on the high alert and the security grid has been tightened to deal with the terrorist upsurge that has led to the series of ambushes and attacks on the security forces. In 2023 there were three major attacks on the security forces leading to a heavy loss of life. Besides the series of other attacks that posed a continuous threat to people in this region. This situation is not new. It has been brewing from a long time in this region. In order to internalise this threat in the Rajouri-Poonch region of Pir Panjal. We must look into the track record of the area. In 2003 Security forces had launched the Operation Sarpvinash to decimate the terrorists in this region who had not only infiltrated from across the border but set up reinforcements in the dense forests of Pir Panjal. That year Hilkaka area hit the national headlines. It was also known as Operation Hilkaka in the media. It was indeed the biggest counter –insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir that yielded the desired results to keep the region peaceful for quite some time. Nomad village Hilkaka was captured by the terrorists and the encampments were so intense that the Lancer helicopters were used to pound the bunkers of the terrorists. Nearly 100 terrorists were eliminated in this operation. Not only that.  A big cache of arms and ammunition was recovered that included multiple explosives and ration. The quantity of ration was to enormous that it could keep feeding the terrorists for years. Besides that many communication gadgets were recovered that kept the terrorists in contact with their handlers across the border. It needs to be understood that Operation Sarpvinash was conducted in the aftermath of the Operation Parakaram. It was a comprehensive military mobilisation on borders by India to send a strong signal to Pakistan that the attack on the Indian Parliament is an act of war against India .Pakistan had to yield under the international pressure and the tension was defused. But one thing is clear. Pakistan understood that it is not easy to indulge with India in a conventional war. Due to two reasons. One that it  was not an equal to India in the  battlefield and will have to pay a heavy price .Two, Indian influence at the global level will invite the international players to exercise pressure on India and even the sanctions leading to economic destabilisation in Pakistan. So it indulged in subversive tactics to invest in the radical mercenaries that can further its agenda leaving an ample scope for the plausible deniability. So it devised a plan of infiltrating the terrorists and mercenaries across India and set up fortifications in the Rajouri-Poonch regions. The thrust was so dangerous that it managed to create concentrations of terrorists akin to terrorist camps in the dense forests to develop a sustainable terrorist network well inside the Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan understands from the strategic perspective that areas south of Mendhar leading to Pir Panjal range along Hilkaka constitute the shortest route for the terrorists to enter the Kashmir valley. It becomes clear that this region acts as the backup for Pakistan to operationalize the alternate plan to keep Kashmir on the boil when the noose has been tightened by the security forces in the valley. The kind of ambushes and attacks on the security forces that have again erupted last year are not ordinary law and order issues. It is an open act of war that the security establishment must internalise. Terrorists have kept the security forces engaged for months in this region. That speaks about the logistic support and training these mercenaries have gone through. As such to end the control and infrastructural presence of the terrorists in the Pir Panjal the Indian Army must evaluate the penetration of these terrorists from the standpoint of previous trends from 2003.We hope that the Operation Sarvshakti now launched by the Indian Army will factor in all the facets of the enemy tactics from across the border to choke their supply lines in the Pir Panjal and cleanse Rajouri-Poonch from the terrorist fortifications in the forests. Operation Sarvshakti is indeed the need of the hour to uphold the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.