Additional forces being deployed to instil sense of safety among voters ahead of local body elections

Abduction of families of policemen is not the only new facet of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir. The security establishment is now also wary of the three terror “tanzeems” (organisations) namely Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and lashkar-e-Tayyaba(leT) coming together and thereby dispelling the notion that they operate separately in their perceived areas of influence.

Moreover, the upcoming panchayat and local body elections in the State will pose another daunting challenge to the security forces.

The security establishment apprehends that the combined lot of HM, leT and JeM will go all out to disrupt the polls by targeting cadre and leaders of political parties besides terrorising peace-loving locals to prevent them from exercising their right to franchise.

The municipal polls are scheduled to take place in four phases from October 1 to October 5 and the panchayat polls in eight phases from November 8 to December 4, 2018. 

According to ground reports, “The south Kashmir districts of the Valley pose the biggest challenge for the security forces due to the large presence of terrorist cadre of different outfits.” 

The three terror organisations, of late, have started operating in mixed groups giving them more space to operate and enlarging their area of operation posing a big threat to the security forces. This coming together of the terrorist groups has now blurred the boundaries of their earlier zones enabling them to widen the arc, especially in areas north of Pir Panjal mountain ranges, including the sensitive Kashmir valley, officials in the security establishment said on Saturday.

To create conducive atmosphere for holding these polls, the State Government has decided to deploy more than 20,000 additional paramilitary jawans to instill a sense of security among the local population. J&K has 4,500 panchayats spread across 22 districts and a total of 41,000 panchayat members.

Explaining the dynamics of this emerging trend, officials said earlier HM, the largest terrorist group, mostly operated in south Kashmir while leT and JeM concentrated their terrorist activities in north Kashmir. 

Elaborating upon the potency of the combined threat, officials said, at present, there are nearly 280 to 290 terrorists operating in the south and north Kashmir. Out of these, HM has nearly 180 cadre, while leT has 70 to 80 fighters and JeM 20-25. The other small groups like Al Badr has about ten or so cadre, they said.

Another worrying factor is the recruitment of nearly 134 gullible locals this year into the terrorist ranks which adds muscle to the terror organisations.  While the total figure for the entire last year as regards recruitment was 127, officials have not ruled out more young men joining the terror ranks in the coming months.  Incidentally, most of the youths joining the terrorist organisations are in the troubled south Kashmir region, sources said adding radicalisation is one of the major reasons for it.

Security experts believe, “Holding municipal/panchayat polls at a time when abduction of family members of policemen and targeted killing of ‘informers’, political activists, security personnel is going on ‘unabated’ will be a ‘Herculean’ task.”

Nevertheless, the security forces are in “hot pursuit” of these terrorists and have successfully neutralised several top commanders to restore normalcy in the region.

To scare away local population from participating in these elections, terror outfits have been pasting ‘threatening’ posters across villages ordering people to boycott these polls.

Even before the announcement of these polls, hardline Hurriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani went ahead and issued a separate appeal to the people to boycott municipal and panchayat polls in the State.

Official sources revealed paramilitary already stationed in the State on account of Amarnath Yatra duty have been directed to prolong their  stay till the conduct of panchayat polls.

Demanding foolproof security arrangements, political parties in the State have welcomed the announcement of polls at the grassroot level. Shafiq Mir, Chairman of All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference, an organisation of elected Sarpanches, told The Pioneer, “The onus is on the State Government to create conducive atmosphere for peaceful conduct of the polls”. He said, “We are ready to contest panchayat elections to strengthen democracy in the state at the grass root level.”

In the previous elections held in April 2011, an overwhelming 83 per cent turnout was recorded in the State.