Forces told to step up Valley offensive

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 15

Notwithstanding the initiation of talks in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre today decided to intensify anti-militancy operations in the state, with security forces being instructed to eliminate those who continue to indulge in violence in the Valley.

A senior official of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of a security core group, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, where the prevailing security situation in the state was reviewed and agencies asked to keep the momentum going in eliminating those indulging in violence.

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Others who attended the meeting included Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Centre’s Special Representative for J&K dialogue Dineshwar Sharma and top officials of Intelligence Bureau, Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and paramilitary forces.

The MHA official said the forces would continue to do their job even as Sharma held talks with all stakeholders in an effort to usher in lasting peace in the state. With Intelligence inputs suggesting that militants were trying to derail the dialogue initiative, “security forces have been asked to step up the offensive against them”. Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir SP Vaid recently said around 170 militants had been gunned down by the security forces in the state this year. 

Meanwhile, in Srinagar, separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik called for a “complete strike” across the Valley on November 27 against the  “ill-treatment  and harassment” in the name of militancy.