THE Jammu and Kashmir region has been facing a new challenge in terms of fight against terror.Thanks to the no-nonsense approach of the security agencies, terror activity in border districts has come down markedly. However, the number of terror strikes in other areas has gone up, in the process claiming as many as 44 lives (including 18 of the people from security agencies) in the year 2024. Handling of increased terror activity in areas other than border districts of Jammu and Kashmir, thus, has posed a newer challenge for the security agencies to tackle. Tackling this is going to claim a lot of attention and energy of the Government in the coming times, experts apprehend. In other words, the Government may be needed to spend a lot more resources to fight terror in non-border areas of Kashmir in times to come. One of the reasons of this changed strategy of terror masterminds may be the slackness of response of the Government to terror.

 

The open threat by the Government that it would not hesitate to take a very tough, no-nonsense stand and strike deep inside the enemy-held territory appears to have been forgotten by the authorities. As a result, the terror outfits are picking up courage to keep striking deeper inside the Indian territory and cause damage to innocent civilian population in multiple ways. One of the worst effects of this is an increased sense of insecurity growing in common people of Jammu and Kashmir. When areas deeper inside the region are getting affected by terror activity and when innocent people are falling victims to terror strikes, then the common people are most likely to carry a sense of fear and terror in their heads and hearts. And that it is happening with a greater intensity soon after the legislative elections some weeks ago, is a matter of greater concern. For, this dishes out a message that the people’s lives are not safe in the new arrangement. The implications of such a message can well be understood.

 

This reality does bring us back to asking the simple question : Why is not the Government ordering strikes into enemy-held territory as Indian retaliation ? For, if such retaliatory strikes are ordered and undertaken, then the terror masterminds and sponsors would get the right message immediately -- which had happened following the Indian strikes in Uri and Balakot five-plus years ago. For reasons not intelligible to common comprehension, the Government appears to be desisting that move. Though there is an elected Government in the Union Territory now, the change does not bar the Centre from taking tough military decision and action to combat terror. The increased terror activity deeper into the region should, in fact, be treated as good enough a reason for the Government to order toughest possible retaliation. It is not known if some political consideration is holding the Government back from taking such a decision. In fact, the common people of the country are also waiting for some action by the Government as regards of snatching back the areas of Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan for seventy-plus years.

 

Some time back, a lot of political talk was taking place in this regard and a lot of swag was available in public domain that it was only a matter of time when India would snatch back the occupied Kashmir. Nothing of that sort appears to be on the cards. This has sent a wave of disappointment among the common people who also expect the security agencies to defeat terror activity most decisively. If the common people carry an impression about the Government’s weakness and meekness, then the larger purpose of safety and security suffers a setback. Can India afford such an impression ?