Over 50 terrorists have been killed in the last 2 years in Baramulla, the first district to earn the tag since militancy hit Kashmir in the late 1980s.
New Delhi: After Wednesday’s encounter that left three terrorists dead at Binner village in Baramulla, the Jammu and Kashmir Police has declared the district in northern Kashmir “terrorist-free”.
“With this, Baramulla has become the first district of Kashmir with no surviving militant as of date,” the Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a statement on the encounter. “J&K Police extends its thanks to the local population for all their support in providing a better security environment in the district.”
This is the first time since militancy-hit the Valley that a district has been declared as being “terrorist-free”.
“We now don’t have a resident terrorist in Baramulla district and neither is any terrorist from Baramulla operating anywhere else,” Baramulla SSP Imtiyaz Hussain told ThePrint.
‘Focus on breaking network helped earned distinction’
SSP Hussain, who heads the anti-terror drive in the district, said the focus is not just on killing the terrorists but also ensuring that recruitment into the terror network does not take place.
“We have worked hard to target the support network of these terrorists,” he said. “In the last year, only one local boy was recruited from this district and he has been neutralised.”
The officer said that police have worked with families of terrorists and have helped some of them to renounce violence. “The real success is when we don’t allow recruitment to take place. And that is what we are focusing on,” he said.
Sources said that that about 50 terrorists belonging to the district had been killed in different operations by the security forces in Baramulla and the LoC in the last two years.
What is significant is that many over-ground workers, who could have become active terrorists, were neutralised by detention and counselling during the same period.
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‘Short-lived but a major success’
Even though Baramulla being “terrorist-free” is an achievement for the security forces, especially the Jammu and Kashmir Police, experts are of the view that this, while being a major success, could also be short-lived.
“It does not take time for a terrorist from the neighbouring district to come and operate here,” a source said. “What if a new guy gets recruited from the district?”
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Modi Government in election mode. Trying to score brownie points.
Our officials should wait for six months at least before declaring a terror free area. Right now they are jumping the gun and appear keen to make all sorts of announcements in a hurry.