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| Haunted by Chittisinghpura massacre on Clinton's visit, J&K fears terror strike during Obama trip | | | Bharat Bhushan
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 22: Haunted by the Chittisinghpura massacre of 35 Sikhs on the eve of the arrival of US president Bill Clinton on March 20, 2000, the Jammu and Kashmir government fears a terror strike ahead of Barack Obama's India visit early next month.
The Chittisinghpura macabre incident preceded Clinton's arrival by only a few hours and the scale of the violence was large even amid the exceptional sorrows of the valley. The incident was linked to the US President's visit. For the first time, the victims were Sikhs, a religious minority never before targeted during the bloody decade infused with grief.
It was a monstrous way of the militants to grab the international attention and seek US intervention in "resolving the entangled Kashmir problem".
Over a decade has passed since then, but the slaughter has now started haunting the J&K government which fears a repeat of the Chittisinghpura-like incident ahead of Obama's visit to India next month.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah said he would himself review the security arrangements in the state on Obama's visit to the country.The Unified Command, J&K's highest body on security matters, was also to convene its special meeting to discuss security scenario in the state ahead of the scheduled Obama visit.
A senior army officer said terrorists might be planning a big strike in the coming days to hit international headlines. Militants have always struck the state in a big way on the eve of
any high-profile visit from outside the country to draw international attention towards Kashmir, he added.
He said the Unified Command, with Omar in the chair, would discuss strategies to foil any infiltration bid by militants from the neighbouring Pakistan and build pressure on militants in the
hinterland.
Massive "seek and destroy" operations would be launched in the hills of the militancy infested districts of the state to keep militants on the run, the officer asserted.
J&K police chief Kuldeep Khoda Thursday said as there were about 500 active militants in the state, there was a need to step up vigil in the border areas as the threat of infiltration persisted.
Army chief, Gen V K Singh has said that 42 terror camps are operational in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir."From our side, we will be fully prepared to avoid the recurrence of
Chittisinghpura-like massacre on or before the Obama visit," Omar said.
The officer said the troops were already maintaining round-the-clock vigil along the borders following intelligence inputs that militants were waiting in some forward Pak posts to sneak into the Indian territory.
As part of the stepped up vigil, help of locals and village defence committees (VDCs) was also being taken in the border areas, he added.SSP, Samba, J L Sharma said he had put cops on high alert in the border areas of the district.Apart from night patrolling in the border areas, cops were also maintaining a vigil on the highway, he added. |
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