Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been closely overseeing the action being taken in various states where national security is a challenge.
In Jammu and Kashmir the security forces have managed to largely bring the problem of terrorism under control. On the Maoist front, the security forces based on the instructions of Home Minister Shah have been making giant strides. The Home Minister has in fact said that Maoism will breathe its last in March 2026.
With J&K and Maoism largely under control, the focus of the government now is on Manipur. Shah has said that by March 8, there would be free movement of people on all roads in Manipur.
Deadline for Manipur
Home Minister Shah on Saturday chaired a meeting where he took stock of the security situation in the state. The state has witnessed large scale violence owing to multiple factors including foreign interference. This prompted the government to impose President’s rule in the state.
The minister during the review meeting said that strict action should be taken against those who are obstructing the roads. The militants who have indulged in arson in Manipur have been largely targeting the roads. This is mainly because they do not want arms and ammunition as well as food supplies to reach. This is done to ensure that they have a better bargaining chip.
During the security review meeting, the officials told the Home Minister that the first step should be to make the road safe so that transport is not targeted. In the current scenario there is an element of fear for people to travel. Shah told the officials that the strictest of action should be taken and by March 8 all the roads should be safe and traffic can ply normally.
The meeting was a significant one since it was the first security review meeting since the imposition of President’s rule in the state. During the meeting apart from Shah, Governor of Manipur, Ajay Kumar Bhalla and officials of the army and paramilitary forces were present.
The meeting also came in the wake of the February 20 deadline issued by Bhalla in which he asked the militants to surrender arms and ammunition that they had looted from the government. Since the issuance of the deadline, 100s of weapons have been surrendered. More such surrenders are on the anvil in the days to come.
Coordination would be key
Sources told Organiser that while making the roads safer and the surrender of arms and ammunition are key elements to the restoration of peace, the top officials said that the coordination between the central and state forces is very important.
The state police have the best Intelligence as they have their eyes and ears on the ground. The Intelligence which they share with the central agencies is extremely handy in carrying out operations that are precise. The element of a miss should be very minimal in any operations against terrorists.
Further the security officials have also flagged concerns regarding the activities along the border. The Home Minister instructed that the fencing work be expedited on the international order of Manipur. He also instructed them to crack down heavily on the extortion mafia. He said that the government remains committed to long lasting peace in Manipur and all possible assistance will be provided in this regard.
Officials say that this is a tough battle as it is not a straightforward one. We are not just dealing with foreign elements, but the locals as well. While dealing with locals’ extreme care has to be taken since any misadventure can disrupt peace all over again.
Security the roads was also a top priority as free movement of vehicles is important. Strengthening the border is also important as newer terrorists cannot keep entering while the existing ones are either eliminated or arrested. Next is the extortion racket. This has been curbed to a large extent and the heightened security the announcement of Operation All Out has only helped in tackling this menace. The surrender of arms and ammunition is also important. WIth 1,000s of weapons yet to be surrendered, the situation is volatile since these militant groups have access to sophisticated weaponry. The surrender has begun, and officials feel that they would be able to have a large number of the stolen weapons back in their control in another week or so.
While there is a lot of action on the ground, on the background talks are also on in full swing with all communities. It would not be sufficient if only there is ground action. For long lasting peace, talks are important to get warring factions on the same page as only this would help in maintaining of long-lasting peace.
When an official was asked as to how long it would take for peace to completely return and the democratically elected government back in control, he said that the idea is to get the job done as quickly as possible. Our estimate would be anything between four to six months, the official also said.
