The Hindu : Panic as militants move beyond J&K

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 17, 2003

National

National

Panic as militants move beyond J&K

By Our Staff Reporter

Basohli (Kathua) Aug. 16. Terrorists have begun spreading their tentacles beyond Jammu and Kashmir into the areas bordering neighbouring Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The hilly parts of Kathua district with vast highlands and intractable terrain, known as gateway to the Jammu and Kashmir, are fast emerging as the new operational areas.

Suddenly, `panic buttons' are being pressed. On August 9, militants ambushed six Himachal policemen who ventured into the Bujhladar forest area of Jammu and Kashmir to investigate a case of cattle-theft. A constable was killed while a Special police officer was injured. Three youths had been rescued by security personnel from militants the day before.Jagat Singh, a shepherd, is worried that he can no longer traverse the hills without fear due to the presence of militants. "I cannot go to the remote hills thereby depriving me of the fodder for my goats."

Kathua district had more or less been peaceful barring the hilly tracts of Bani, Basohli and Billawar blocks. While the Basohli and Bani blocks border Himachal, Billawar has numerous routes for the inter-district movement of militants. In the past, militants had quietly headed towards Udhampur and Doda districts from the plains. Now, they have cast their eyes on the various hydel power stations in the area, mainly in Punjab and Himachal.

The 600 mw Ranjit Sagar Dam on the river Ravi near Thein village is close to the militants-infested areas of Kathua. Jammu and Kashmir has a 20 per cent stake in the project which is a joint venture with Punjab and Himachal. A radio intercept by Intelligence agencies revealed the threat to the project. Recently, police officials of the three States got together and ordered a four-tier security review. Says the SSP, Kathua, Manish Sinha: "We have alerted the troops and we are taking all precautions."

Incidents of mayhem caused by Kashmir terrorists in the other two States have not been uncommon. On August 8, 1998, terrorists slaughtered 34 road construction workers in the Kalaban area of Himachal's Chamba district. In December 2001, militants attacked the Mamoon Army camp and then escaped to the Chamba hills.

The Jammu and Kashmir side, the State Police, Village Defence Committees and Central Reserve Police force are carrying out counter-insurgency operations, which the locals says, are far from adequate. Says a CRPF officer, "without proper coordination between the security agencies of all the three States it will be difficult to defeat the designs of the terrorists".

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National