Centre mulling JKP-CRPF operational control over entire Central Kashmir

In a significant security-related development—and for the first time in the last 33 years—the Government of India is considering giving entire Central Kashmir in the operational control of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

This may be done, after a comprehensive assessment of the situation, in the wake of the claims of remarkable improvement and restoration of peace in the last over four years of the Governor’s and the President’s rule in the State/Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

If the highly placed authoritative sources are to be believed, the Police and the CRPF would be given the total operational control of the law and order and the counterinsurgency front in the Central Kashmir districts of Budgam and Ganderbal anytime in the next 2-3 months.

As of now, out of the ten districts in the valley, Army is holding counterinsurgency operations in nine districts. The capital Srinagar district has been under the exclusive control of the Police and the CRPF since long.
If the Centre goes ahead with a proposal, the Police and the CRPF would be exclusively responsible for dealing with all law and order and counterinsurgency challenges in all the three Central Kashmir districts—Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal—by April 2023.

“There has been a substantial improvement in the situation, be it law and order or counterterrorism, after the breakdown of the political (PDP-BJP) government in June 2018. However, most of the security related objectives have been achieved only after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A in August 2019. The recruitment of the guerrilla cadres has fallen to the lowest level of the last seven years. There have been less attempts of infiltration from across the LoC and the International Border as compared to the 2008-15 period and most of these have been effectively foiled. The numbers of the terror attacks and the fatal casualties of the civilians as well as the security forces have also fallen to the lowest of the last seven years”, said a senior official.

Director General of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Dilbag Singh, said at his year-end Press conference on 31 December that the Police and security forces had eliminated as many as 186 terrorists in 2022. They included 56 Pakistani nationals and cadres of the jihadist outfits Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. 159 terrorists had been captured alive and detained in jails. He claimed that the total number of the active militants in the UT had been reduced to around 100.

In addition to the active militants neutralised, the Police had booked 557 over-ground workers of different terror groups and apprehended most of them. In all, 146 terror modules have been obliterated in 2022. “Four to five recruits are trained under one module. We have neutralised 146 modules this year”, DGP said. The number of the law and order incidents had fallen to the all-time low of 24. A total of 31 personnel—14 from the J&K Police and 17 from the Central armed forces—had died in the encounters and terror attacks.
Besides, the authorities took action against 649 persons for supporting terrorism.

According to the senior Police and paramilitary officers, the situation had improved to the extent that at least 5 of the 10 valley districts, including Budgam, Ganderbal and Srinagar, could be declared as militant-free in the current year. Funeral processions and gun salutes for the militants killed in encounters with security forces ended completely after March 2020.

There have been virtually no clashes between the people and the security forces in the last four years and consequently no bullets or pellets on the civilian demonstrations. In a sharp contrast to 1999-2019, when the separatists’ hartal calendars paralysed life in the Kashmir valley, there have been few shutdowns in the last four years. On the other hand, trade and tourism have witnessed a revival after a long pause of turmoil.

Withdrawal of the J&K Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which is being perceived as a political demand to benefit the militants, is not going to be conceded in the foreseeable future. However, the proposed relocation of the regular Army from Budgam and Ganderbal districts is likely to send a signal of peace and normalcy in Kashmir to the whole world. “This could be our silent answer to the sustained campaign of anti-India propaganda in the international media and academia”, said an official.