Despite a major spike in terrorist infiltrations and ceasefire violations along the LoC in Kashmir, the Centre seems confident that its two-pronged approach in Kashmir is working. Those who see the appointment of an interlocutor for the state and the recent plan to release first-time stone-throwers as signs of weakness are likely to be proved wrong—as the relentless hunting down of terrorists and their sympathisers in the state, particularly in the Valley (around 200 killed, including at least 50 ‘commanders’) by the Forces is unlikely to stop.
Reports that the Daesh or IS—which claimed responsibility for a November 17 attack in Srinagar in which a policeman was killed—was getting active in the state were quickly rubbished by the military. Government sources suggest the rising infiltration bids (some figures suggest a 75 per cent jump this year over last year) and ceasefire violations (pegged at 530, highest since the early 2000s) are actually signs of growing Pakistani desperation to retain its rapidly eroding influence in Kashmir.
Apart from proactively going after terrorists in the state, the Army is responding aggressively to any cross-border firing and shelling, leading to several plaintive complaints by Pakistani officials over the past few months. Pakistan usually starts such firing as cover for terrorists trying to infiltrate into the Valley. Rapidly increasing cooperation between the various intelligence, military, police and other security forces has led to significant arrests and ambushes. The I-T raids on the Hurriyat and other separatist outfits have dried up terror funding, with some resorting to robbing banks. And in a classic case of psy-ops, the mothers of known terrorists are being asked to appeal to their children to cease and desist, leading to at least five such youngsters renouncing terror and returning home. Dineshwar Sharma, the new interlocutor for Kashmir, seems unfazed by the fact that the separatists have refused to meet him. As one official put it, “In the end, they know they will lose if they don’t talk to us.”