Jammu-Kashmir, Srinagar, Kashmiri news:: Hold Fire


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Hold Fire

Muzamil Jaleel

Posted online: April 18, 2007 at 1608

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A report card from ground zero as the Centre’s high-level team starts its work to review the security situation in Kashmir to give its inputs on a policy framework on demilitarisation of the Valley.

As the Centre’s high-level team starts its work to review the security situation on ground in Kashmir to give its inputs on a policy framework on demilitarisation of the Valley, its first encounter will be with the militants’ shift in strategy. The J-K Police’s Kashmir chief, Inspector-General Shiv Murari Sahai, says that “the insurgency in Kashmir is already over” and it is time the police confronted militant violence. A report card from ground zero by our correspondent

The Srinagar Police were rattled when its investigation into a deadly grenade attack outside the Akhara building in Budshah Chowk led them to a young man running a PCO nearby. The man, with no earlier militant links, had been motivated into participating in a grenade attack by a group of Jaish-e-Mohammed militants who had befriended him. Police arrested the man but released him after they were convinced this was his maiden brush with militancy and his parents promised he would never get involved in such acts again. This is a new tactic to halt militant advances in Srinagar city and police say it is working.

In January, the J-K Police got to know that 39 boys from Sopore and adjoining areas were joining a militant outfit and were ready to leave for basic arms training in north Kashmir. Mir Imtiyaz Hussain, SP, Sopore, immediately contacted his superiors hoping to get a go ahead for their immediate arrest. But this time the orders were different. “No raids and no arrests,” he was told. “Call their parents, talk to them and persuade the boys not to take to the path of violence.” After two months, Hussain says recruitment by the militants has dried up in his area and parents are keeping a strict vigil on their wards, especially those in the right age group for intake into militant ranks.

The number of active militants in Jammu and Kashmir has declined drastically and the police estimate the total militants at around 400. There have been a dozen cases where the police say militants have even talked young men, who did not have any militancy background, into committing violent acts on their behalf. The last fidayeen attack in Srinagar took place in October last year and even as the police say the militant groups’ capability to attack is intact, their punch is missing now. One of the major reasons for the decline in Lashkar-e-Toiba fidayeen attacks is because its operational chief Salahudin alias Bilal alias Hyder returned to PoK six months ago. Salahudin—with a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head—had set up effective networks across Kashmir which he ran from his jungle hideout in the upper reaches of Bandipore in north Kashmir.

The JeM’s operational capabilities, the police say,are at its lowest, especially after its top commanders were killed in a series of police and security force actions last year. Sopore,the one time hub of separatist militancy, seemed set for a resurgence of violence after a decade-long lull until police operations killed a dozen militants and led to the arrest of 59 in a six-month period.

The Hizbul Mujahideen—the largest indigenous militant outfit in the state—is perhaps the only group that has been able to withstand the constant pressure of the security agencies. Its strength has always been its local cadre and networks. And there are already demands from mainstream politicians like National Conference President and MP Omar Abdullah and former Chief minister and PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to engage the group in a dialogue process.

Infiltration too is officially at its lowest in years. The police say militant outfits are finding it difficult to recruit freshers to take them across the Line of Control because the Pakistani establishment discourages it in the post-9/11 scenario. The police, therefore, believe outsourcing of violence has become the logical choice for these groups.

As the nature of militancy changed, the police too changed its tack and suggested replacing earlier counter-insurgency measures with a more accommodative approach.

Army

Now, while Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad opposes an immediate troop reduction—despite what its coalition partner, the PDP, wants—the government privately admits there is no way forward other than withdrawing some troops and putting the J-K Police in control across the state. In fact, the J-K Police is already in the process of raising 15 new Armed Police battalions which will help the police to increase its numbers and ultimately relieve the 36 Rashtriya Rifles units from the internal security in the Valley.

Senior J-K Police officers make a case for the change, saying it’s only too logical. “In early 1990s when militancy was at its peak, there was a need for a massive number of troops to halt militant advances. But now the situation has changed. We have achieved that objective,” IGP Sahai said. “Now we are facing an outsourced militancy and we can handle it only through effective police work.”

The police and security forces

BARAMULLA

The number of militants in the district is 136. Both the Hizb and LeT are believed to have a strong base in the district. The Hizb has 60 militants, most of them in category A. The top Hizb commanders are Shokwat, Zahoor Waza, Ishtiyaq peer, Shaheen Sopori and Tanveer. LeT has around 50 men and its modules are led by Hyder, Tahir, Musa, Furkhan and Hamza—all of them Pakistanis. It is mostly active in Bandipore and the jungles that connect this north Kashmir township with the LoC on one side and Srinagar district on the other.

KUPWARA

Around 35-45 militants are active here, most of them associated with LeT and JeM, with 80 percent of them coming from Pakistan. Abu Zayeed is LeT commander in Kupwara. Waseem alias Pasha is JeM commander. A highly militant-infested area in the district is Lolab.

HANDWARA

This district has 40-50 active militants, 25 among them being Pakistani nationals. The police say this number includes 15 new militants who infiltrated recently via Eagle Pass along the LoC. LeT is the dominant outfit in the district, while the Hizb lies dormant with 8-10 active militants. Pakistani national Furkan is the topmost LeT commander in the area. JeM and Al Badr too have a minor presence. Rajwar, Mawar and Qaziabad are the infested areas. In fact, security agencies say that the thick pine forests of Rajwar form the main militant hub since the entire forest region has no road connectivity.

ANANTNAG

There are 12 or 13 militants operating in the district. They belong to two militant groups—LeT and the Hizb. Dooru Shahabad, Shangus and Bijbehara remain the hotspots. The LeT commander is Aatif and the police are trying to ascertain who has taken over as the Hizb commander following the killing of Ghulam Hassan Reshi alias Amir in Bijbehara recently.

KULGAM

This South Kashmir district has 17 militants listed with the police and all of them are locals. Five of them have been categorised as A grade.

PULWAMA

Police says that around 60 militants are active in the district, of whom 43 are categorised as A, B and C militants. The Hizb, LeT, Al Badr, Harkat and JeM are active here, the strongest outfit being the Hizb. The most wanted commanders of the Hizb are Rayees Kachroo and Rahul Bhat, both locals. The LeT, the second largest outfit in Pulwama, has Pakistanis as its top commanders. Its divisional commander is Aatif while Abu Saria is its district commander. Another top militant identified as Pintoo Malik escaped from judicial custody last year and is active in the district. The Harkat has mostly Pakistani cadre and its commander are Shah Sarwar and Toib. The security agencies believe that the worst affected areas are Panzgam, Wachi and Nain Batapora. The right side on the River Jhelum from Panzgam to Awaneroo is worst hit.

AWANTIPORA

The Police say there are 48-50 militants active in this district and the majority of them operate in Tral. Of them, 10-12 are Pakistani nationals. LeT and Hizb are dominant in the area though the JeM too has a presence. Shabnum, Rayees Kachroo and Hanief Khan are the top Hizb commanders while Shergil, a militant from Lahore, is the JeM commander. The LeT is led by Aatif, a Pak national wanted for the recent killing of the SHO of Pampore.

GANDERBAL

The police say there are 38 militants active here, with Ajas the most infested area. Of the militants, eight are foreigners. The other militants concentrated areas are Warpush, Kotlibagh and Palpora. While the Hizb is the dominant outfit, the LeT and Al Badr are also active. Mushtaq, Shoukeen Khan, Saleem Iliyas and Jehangir of the Hizb are the most wanted, while Pakistani Hamzah is the LeT commander.

SRINAGAR

There is only one militant in Srinagar—identified as Khalid from Harwan area on the outskirts of the city. The militant activity in the city is apparently carried out by those coming in from Pulwama or Bandipore.

BUDGAM

There are 16-18 militants active in this district, including five5-6 foreigners belonging to the LeT and Al Badr.

According to J-K Police estimates the approximate number of militants active in Kashmir is 400, with several of them constantly shifting their bases from place to place. The intelligence agencies put the number of listed militants in the Valley at 732. The militants are concentrated in four major hubs across the Valley, which have turned into little islands surrounded by security forces.

In north Kashmir, the entire LeT operations are carried out from the jungles of Bandipore, while Rajwar forests in Handwara are also infested with militants. The north Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Handwara and Kupwara are dominated by the LeT, and the indigenous Hizbul Mujahideen is mostly dormant.

Lashkar’s chief in Kashmir, Salahudin—who used to operate from Bandipore—returned to Pakistan six months ago. Hizb’s chief in Kashmir is Gazi Misbah-ud-din, whose identity is shrouded in mystery though security agencies believe he is Nissar Ahmad of Arwani village in Anantnag.

In South Kashmir, Tral in Awantipora district and Panzgam, Wachi, Nain Batapora in Pulwama district have come up as hubs of militancy. Although, the Hizb received serious jolts after the killings of its commanders, Suhail Faisal and Aamir in Anantnag, it remains the dominant outfit across the South Kashmir districts of Pulwama, Anantnag, Kulgam and Awantipora. In fact, apart from Liter in Pulwama, Tral and a few pockets in Anantnag, Lashkar has little presence in South Kashmir.

The ratio of soldier/policeman to militant in the Valley is approximately 1000:1. The Army has 36 battalions of the Rashtriya Rifles exclusively involved in counter-insurgency under two divisions, Kilo Force in north Kashmir and Victor Force in South Kashmir. This is apart from the deployment of the regular troop formations that fall under several divisions and independent brigades spread across the Valley, most of them are primarily on border management duties.

There are 58 battalions of the CRPF which also has three mahila (women) companies. The Border Security Force has just a few battalions active in internal security duty in Bandipore and Kupwara, but it has 16 battalions that are generally on border management job. The J-K Police’s total strength in Kashmir is 28,000. There are 11 battalions of J-K Armed Police and Indian Reserve Police Force, one battalion of Auxiliary police, 13 companies of Home guard volunteers besides 8,000-10,000 Special Police Officials.

Mail the author at muzamiljaleel@yahoo.com/ muzamil.jaleel@expressindia.com

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