THE Anantnag encounter that took three lives, is a grim reminder of the presence of terrorists in our forest areas. The claims of the Valley being cleansed of militancy fell flat when three prominent officers from the Army and the Police, lost their lives in a deadly ambush. Let us be reminded that there may be less terrorist attacks in the Valley at present but the presence of terrorism on the streets of Kashmir cannot be ruled out.
The unfortunate incident in which Colonel Manpreet Singh; Major Ashish Dhonchak; and Deputy Superintendent Of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Himayun Bhat were critically injured in the gunfight and later succumbed to their injuries, reflects the loopholes in the human intelligence system. Our fight with terrorism will remain alive till Pakistan does not mend its ways. The Pakistan state feeds and survives in Kashmir at the behest of proxy war which has withered the lives of common Kashmiris and security forces.
The time has come to stop claims of eradication of terrorism and instead, work in coordination with human intelligence and the forces so that terrorists’ havens are found out. Media bytes are not pivotal when it comes to National security. Some strategies need to be carried out away from the media glare.
The complacency in dealing with terrorism will have the same repercussions as the deadly ambush in Anantnag. Our forces were caught without clue before they were holed up and attacked mercilessly. It is time to change the strategy and count the number of terrorists. The support on ground is a morale booster for militancy and that should be contained before directly taking on terrorists one-to-one. The tragedy of the Anantnag encounter is deep and is a lesson to change strategies and deal with terrorism with a tight fist.
