Surge in terror attack in J&K (Image Credit: Business Today)
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif greeted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in a perfunctory manner, just dry greetings devoid of warmth. His elder brother Nawaz Sharif also sent a message of greetings to Modi and this certainly was better of the two messages. Nawaz’s message said: Your party’s success in the recent elections reflects the confidence of the people in your leadership. For good measure, Nawaz said the two sides (Pakistan and India) should seize the moment to shape the future of South Asia.
“My warm felicitations to Modi Ji on assuming office for the third time. Let us replace hate with hope and seize the opportunity to shape the destiny of the two billion people of South Asia,” Nawaz said. Incidentally, Mian Nawaz Sharif had participated in Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on May 26, 2014, a little over a decade ago. In December 2015, Modi flew to Lahore and attended the wedding ceremony of Nawaz’s granddaughter.
Just a week later, on January 2, 2016, terrorists struck at Pathankot airbase and the India-Pakistan bilateral relations went into a tailspin. Ever since, it was a march to increased hostility, suspicion and mutual acrimony. The Pulwama blast of February 14, 2019, and retaliatory Balakot air strikes from India deep down into Pakistan territory was a low from which the two nations are yet to get out.
At the beginning of his second term, Modi’s government abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Pakistan, then ruled by Prime Minister Imran Khan reacted rather undiplomatically, dialling down diplomatic ties significantly. So be it was the Indian government’s reaction who responded in a tit for tat manner. The only silver lining in the bilateral ties was the two sides agreeing to a ceasefire on borders in February 2021. This was a signal contribution of former Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Ahmed Bajwa.
This ceasefire was originally signed on November 23, 2003, during the Atal Behari Vajpayee era when General Pervez Musharraf ruled Pakistan as President.
In last less than a week since Modi took oath of office as PM for the third time, four terrorist strikes have been reported from the Jammu region. Around the time Modi’s guests had started arriving on Sunday (June 9) for the function at Rashtrapati Bhavan lawns, terrorists struck over 600 km away at Reasi killing nine and injuring 43 others. There were telltale signs that this attack was the handiwork of Pakistani terrorists.
On Tuesday evening, two more terrorist strikes happened, one in Hiranagar (Kathua district) and another at Chhatargala (Doda district). While two terrorists were killed in Hiranagar encounter, arms and ammunition were also seized. Officially, this encounter was described as the handiwork of a neighbour by the police. Incidentally, the nearest territory (from the incident site) of another country was that of Pakistan barely six to seven kilometres as the crow flies, south of National Highway 44 (NH44).
On Wednesday, another terrorist strike was reported from Bhalessa area of Doda district. On Wednesday afternoon, a message started floating on various social media platforms in Jammu. The message, purportedly from a high ranking official in the Police Control Room (PCR) of Jammu district, talked of getting inputs on possible suicide attacks in some areas of Rajouri district as also Jammu. The common thread linking all the possible spots that could be targeted was their proximity with Pakistan border.
Again, on Wednesday, the district police of Jammu released a list of “Helpline Numbers’’ listed under 43 names. These numbers were those of the SSP Jammu Dr Vinod Kumar, many SPs, DSPs, Inspectors (mostly SHOs) and District Police Lines (DPL) etc.
On Thursday, there were rumours that “suspicious movement’’ had been observed near Narwal/Bhatindi. The police reacted with alacrity, launched massive searches and declared that all was well. Incidentally, it needs to be mentioned here that at least seven terrorism related incidents have been reported from six out of 10 districts of the Jammu region. Barring the Hiranagar encounter, terrorists gave the slip to security forces on six other occasions.
This definitely doesn’t inspire among ordinary citizens all over the Jammu region with most plain areas facing temperatures of above 40 degrees Celsius. In lot many WhatsApp groups and among YouTubers, security is being flagged as a serious concern. This becomes significant as Shri Amarnath yatra is about to start on June 29, less than 20 days away.
In the past, there have often been occasions when Amarnath pilgrims have been targeted by terrorists. In view of all this, it was imperative for PM Modi to review the security situation in Jammu & Kashmir at the highest level and he did it on Thursday afternoon. It has been reported that Modi will take part in International Yoga Day function in Srinagar (Kashmir) on June 21.
Returning to the messages of greetings from Sharif brothers of Pakistan, what does one make of them in Jammu & Kashmir? If truth be told, the way things have panned out in the last four days, there is tremendous anger and resentment against Pakistan. It is hard to imagine how any people in Jammu & Kashmir would forget all this and want Modi to respond to these messages. Nobody other than former Chief Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah wants to float peace balloons in J&K. Such balloons which get shot with a bang by Pakistan the moment the gas makes them airborne.
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