Don’t want to put people in trouble in chilling cold by launching cordons, anti-militancy Ops on basis of specific leads: ADGP Munir Khan
Srinagar, Jan 01 : Jammu and Kashmir police on Wednesday said that security forces are deliberately avoiding launching Cordon and Search Operations (CASOs) across Kashmir keep in view the harsh winter conditions as forces don’t want to put people in unnecessary trouble by keeping them out of homes in bone chilling cold.
The Police, however, said that anti-militancy operations were not on a halt as whenever specific leads or inputs about presence of militants is received, operations are launched as seen in the past.
Official figures reveal that there has been no anti-militancy operation since past 35 days across Kashmir. The number of militants killed last year is also 40 per cent less than 2018. In 2019, 160 militants were killed in encounters across Kashmir. In 2019, 139 local boys joined militancy against 218 in 2018.
In an exclusive chat with the wire service— Additional Director General of Police J&K, for Law, Order, Security, Munir Khan said that it is not that anti-militancy operations are on a halt. “We are avoiding launching CASOS in village so that people are not put to unnecessary trouble in bone chilling cold. We don’t want people to stay out of their homes for hours together during CASOs at a time when Kashmir is witnessing freezing temperatures,” Khan said.
He, however, stressed that anti-militancy operations are launched on the basis of specific inputs and leads about presence of militants. “We are very much after militants but only when we get specific inputs,” ADGP Khan said.
Official figures available with the news agency reveal that from January to August 5 (2019), when Centre scrapped Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories—J&K and Ladakh, 142 militants were killed. From August 5 to December 2019, only a dozen gunfights were witnessed in Kashmir in which only 18 militants were killed. The last gunfight was witnessed in Drabgam area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on November 26 in which two militants were killed.
Sources said that the security forces faced difficulties due to communication gag as its technical and human intelligence suffered a blow. However, a police officials said that its human and technical intelligence base was very much intact and that primary focus has been to ensure law and order was maintained while as anti-militancy operations were conducted after receiving specific leads only to prevent unnecessary trouble for the people. (KNO)
