New Delhi: After a detailed review of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir during his first visit to the Valley since the Center’s Article 370 move in 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked officials to “end terrorism”. Fight or get transferred from here.
“Don’t worry about the welfare of the people, we will see that if you work on eliminating terrorism. A senior Jammu and Kashmir official quoted Shah as saying, “We have zero tolerance for terrorism in the Valley.
Shah’s direct message came during a meeting held on Saturday last week to review the security situation in the Union Territory. It was attended by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary, DGP Kashmir, IG Kashmir, Intelligence Bureau and RAW chiefs and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, the official said. The four-day visit of the Home Minister comes amid recent attacks on civilians in the Valley.
In the meeting, the senior official said Shah addressed the intelligence chiefs and inquired about “worthy” solutions to curb terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The intelligence chiefs briefed the Home Minister about his style of functioning and told that the local authorities do not want to work on intelligence, as they feel that there will be an investigation and the CBI will come to the Valley. To this Shah said that those who are scared should not work in Kashmir and instead they should take good postings.
Shah said, “Staying here, they should not do us any favors.” Shah’s message was loud and clear that those who are not willing to work in Jammu and Kashmir should leave the Valley immediately .
The source said Shah also spoke to the army commander and told him about the “lapse” in the security arrangements. HM was told that there were only 11 infiltration in 2021 and that number had come down substantially. Shah, however, said that if there had been only 11 infiltration, the number of killings should also have come down.
Shah said that with 11 infiltration in the Valley and the killing of so many terrorists, terrorism should have ended there, which was not happening. According to sources, the Home Minister said, “Do you think this is the correct answer?”
The Home Minister also asked the officials to arrest all the Overground Workers (OGWs) without any hesitation. Sources quoted Shah as saying, “Let them face action for doing anti-national work.” Overground workers (OGWs) are those who provide logistics support, cash, accommodation and other facilities to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Huh. Police classify an OGW as ‘supporting insurgents’.
Security forces had recently detained over 900 OGWs of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Al-Badr and The Resistance Front (TRF).
There have been several attacks on civilians in the Valley in the recent past, of which only this month has been killed. Five of those killed were laborers from Bihar, while three, including two teachers, belonged to the minority community in Kashmir.
(with agency input)