J&K wants its cops to fight ultras

The Mufti Mohd Sayeed Government has urged the Centre to allow more freedom of action to the local police in fighting militancy in the hinterland on the ground that the Jammu & Kashmir Police is now battle-hardened with enough manpower and weaponry besides robust Intelligence gathering network to take on militants, be it local or foreign.  

The proposal submitted to the Home Ministry entails appointing an Inspector-General rank police officer as head of counter-insurgency grids in Jammu & Kashmir with the para-military and Army officers assisting him in planning operations.  While sources said the J&K Government’s move also comes against the backdrop of violence levels having come down, nevertheless, it is being seen in the light of demands for withdrawal of the Armed forces and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the State. 

Though it is highly unlikely to be accepted - especially given the scenario now - yet in case the proposal gets the Centre’s assent in the long run, the Army can withdraw several Rashtriya Rifles (RR) battalions from these zones and deploy them at the line of Control (loC) for conventional war and to further strengthen the anti-infiltration grid. 

At present, the Army operates in the hinterland as part of the counter-insurgency grid besides being responsible for checking infiltration from across the 750-km long loC. Moreover, the Army also mans the three-tier anti-infiltration grid in a range of two to five kms from the loC to nab the militants if they manage to cross the loC.

Sources said the State Government is of the opinion that the police over the years have become battle-hardened in taking on well-armed militants. Moreover, the State police have adequate trained manpower besides sophisticated weaponry to fight militancy backed by robust Intelligence gathering network and is confident of taking the lead in the fight against terrorism, they said.In this scenario, the State Government wants changes in the Unified Headquarters with more presence of its police officers with an Inspector-General heading various zones. Junior officers of para-military including Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF) besides the Army will assist the Inspector-General in planning and execution of operations, as per the State’s plan.

The Unified Headquarters earlier known as Unified Command was formed in early 1990s after full-blown insurgency engulfed the State.  Headed by the Chief Minister, the Unified Headquarters comprises officers from the Army, para-military, State police and Intelligence agencies.

The Army had to play a major role in fighting militancy and insurgency in the initial years given the direct and indirect involvement of Pakistan Army and ISI in fomenting trouble in the strategically-important border State.Also, the State police at that point of time was not equipped and trained to fight highly-motivated foreign militants who had cut their teeth fighting in the Afghan war.  

Given these constraints, the Army had to confront these militants in the hinterland too as the State Government lacked resources, officials said. Nearly 65 RR battalions, raised soon after terrorism and insurgency nearly went out of control starting in 1990, are now deployed all over the State to tackle militancy.

Para-military forces including the BSF and CRPF also had to shoulder the major responsibility of denying the space to militants to operate in towns and cities of Jammu & Kashmir and in the process, suffering casualties to restore normalcy.

As violence levels came down over successive years especially in the last five to seven years, the para-military forces also withdrew from most of the towns as the State police gained confidence to manage the situation, they said.