news details |
|
|
| At 60 killings a month, violence ebbs | | The average monthly killing rate in 2001 stood at 300 | |
NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
Jammu, July 13: The infiltration from Line of Control and the International Border may be cause of worry for the security agencies as hoards militants are sneaking in regularly but the level of violence in the interiors have dropped significantly.
According top Police officers in Srinagar and Jammu, the reason for decline in violence is the higher guard, close coordination among different forces and better fighting capabilities of the anti-insurgency forces including the Jammu and Kashmir. "Dwindling public support to the militants is also a major reason which is helping efforts of forces in eliminating the terrorism", said a Police Officer.
Police sources claim that the average daily death toll from insurgency-related violence in the state has fallen to its lowest level since the eruption of separatist insurgency in 1989. Against the average figure of ten daily killings in 2000-2001, these months only two people are counted killed on a daily average, said an officer. The fall in killings is maintaining despite a slow pace of dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Sources also attribute the drop to fencing of the border and more effective counter-insurgency tactics.
It is pertinent to note here that despite the easing of violence, the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has a reason to oppose the reduction in troop levels in the state. "Although the incidents of violence and militancy are on the decline it is not wise to lower our guard," Azad while addressing a rally in Anantnag on Wednesday.
Azad said the number of troops would be "automatically reduced and troops would go to the barracks once the situation was completely under control." He said his Congress government "was trying to bring back the situation to the level of 1987-88" when Kashmir was at peace and hundreds of thousands of people visited the state.
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil who was recently in Jammu and Kashmir also noted that level of violence in the interiors was well under control but continuing infiltration from across the border is a cause of serious concern.
Meanwhile, the Central government today also claimed that the number of tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir has increased, since the government had been able to put a tab on terrorism with the help of locals. "Valley killings have gone down by 80 per cent. The government has put a tab on terrorism, following which terror activities have declined," Union Minister of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal said at a news conference in New Delhi.
"The UPA regime is committed to uprooting terrorism. However, it can only be curbed with the active cooperation of the masses," Jaiswal observed. Talking about the country's internal security, the minister suggested the state governments to provide employment opportunities to the youth to fight naxalism.
"Penury and unemployment are to a large extent, responsible for the mushrooming number of criminal activities in the country." The intelligence apparatus, which plays a vital role in the country's security, also needs to be strengthened, he underlined.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
