Pir Panjal challenge: Terrorists are again changing tactics in J&K. New Delhi must be alive to serious emerging threats

The casualties taken by security forces in a counter-terror operation in Kashmir’s Anantnag district point to a new emerging challenge. Col Manpreet Singh and Maj Aashish Dhonchak of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, and DSP Humayun Bhat of J&K Police were martyred during a fierce gunfight with terrorists believed to be from The Resistance Front, an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The incident has brought the focus on the Pir Panjal region of J&K, which appears to be emerging as a new zone of terror activities.

Between January 2021 and May 30 this year, 24 security personnel and 75 civilians were killed on either side of the Pir Panjal. In fact, almost congruent with the Anantnag encounter, another shootout between security forces and terrorists took place south of the Pir Panjal in Rajouri district this week. The area is replete with thick interconnected forests and natural caves that provide terrorists with ideal hideouts. Plus, armed forces’ presence here had long been tapered due to the relatively better security situation for almost two decades. But post-2020, militants once again started showing up in the region.

This leads to two conclusions. First, despite the vastly improved security situation in J&K – as exemplified by the 1.88 crore-plus tourists visiting the UT last year – Pakistanbased terror groups are constantly changing their tactics to outfox security forces. While 2022 saw a spate of targeted killings that demanded security attention on local terror recruits and their overground workers, exploitation of the Pir Panjal corridor harks back to conventional terror manoeuvres. Additionally, northern army commander, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, has also flagged terrorists finding their way to J&K through Punjab and Nepal. That means we need to review our security on the Punjab border and quickly work with Nepal to improve screening of cross-border traffic on that front.

India also needs to be mindful of the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan that has a direct bearing on Kashmir. Given the current flux in Pakistani politics and Islamabad’s growing problems with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the Pakistani deep state will be inclined to step up terror activities in Kashmir as a diversionary tactic to keep Indian forces tied down. So, what’s needed is greater flexibility and adaptability in counter-terror operations in J&K. Pakistan-based terror forces will continue to exploit weaknesses in the J&K security dragnet. New Delhi must not be complacent with the successes achieved in Kashmir thus far.

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