J&K truce ends, operations set to resume soon

New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday decided to withdraw the conditional ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir which was announced last month in the wake of the holy month of Ramzan. The security forces will now launch a massive offensive against terror groups active in the Valley with top intelligence and security officials claiming that tracking down militants responsible for the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari and Army jawan Aurangzeb is a “top priority” for them.

This newspaper had reported last week that the Centre was unlikely to extend the ceasefire in J&K after Ramzan in view of the sharp increase in terror incidents during the holy month.

Even the state unit of the BJP, which is in coalition with the PDP in the J&K government, was also not in favour of extending suspension of operations, particularly after the killings of Bukhari and Aurangzeb.

Security sources claimed that the entire network in the Valley has been activated to track down those responsible for the killing of Bukhari and Aurangzeb and the forces were hopeful of achieving success in the next few days. The cordon and search operations in the Valley will also resume from Monday.

The central government had on May 17 decided that security forces will not conduct offensive operations in J&K during Ramzan.

Home minister Rajnath Singh, in a statement issued on Sunday, reiterated that the security forces had been directed to take all possible action to ensure that terror outfits do not resort to violence and killing.

“It was expected that everyone will cooperate in ensuring the success of this initiative. While the security forces have displayed exemplary restraint during this period, the terrorists have continued with their attacks, on civilians and security forces, resulting in deaths and injuries,” the home minister said.

Security and intelligence agencies claimed that there was a sharp increase in terror related incidents during the month-long ceasefire as 66 such cases were reported as compared to 25 the month before that.

However, security sources admitted that there was drop in civilian casualties during the period. Intelligence reports suggest that terror groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed had used the ceasefire period to consolidate and re-group their operatives in the Valley and this could pose a serious threat in the days ahead, particularly to the Amarnath Yatra.

Mr Singh appealed to people to come together in an attempt to isolate militants and prevail upon those who have been misguided to join the mainstream.

Ministry sources claimed that Centre’s J&K interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma will continue to engage with different groups in the state to explore possibilities for bringing peace to the region.

While explaining the logic behind conditional ceasefire, the home minister claimed this was largely to ensure that peace-loving people in J&K could celebrate Ramzan and Id in a conducive and favourable environment.

On Friday, the home minister had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the situation in the Valley.

Minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh said that home ministry has decided that suspension of anti-terror operations will no longer continue.

He added that the immediate priority of both the Centre and the state was to ensure that the Amarnath yatra, scheduled to start later this month, was conducted peacefully.

Meanwhile, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah in a Tweet said that it was “ the Centre’s initiative and yet these people are celebrating its failure as if it had been announced by our enemies. Its failure is the failure of everyone who wanted to give peace a chance”.

Security and intelligence agencies claimed that there was a sharp increase in terror related incidents during the month-long ceasefire as 66 such cases were reported as compared to 25 the month before that.

However, security sources admitted that there was drop in civilian casualties during the period. Intelligence reports suggest that terror groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed had used the ceasefire period to consolidate and re-group their operatives in the Valley and this could pose a serious threat in the days ahead, particularly to the Amarnath Yatra.

Mr Singh appealed to people to come together in an attempt to isolate militants and prevail upon those who have been misguided to join the mainstream.

Ministry sources claimed that Centre’s J&K interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma will continue to engage with different groups in the state to explore possibilities for bringing peace to the region.

While explaining the logic behind conditional ceasefire, the home minister claimed this was largely to ensure that peace-loving people in J&K could celebrate Ramzan and Id in a conducive and favourable environment.

On Friday, the home minister had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the situation in the Valley.

Minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh said that home ministry has decided that suspension of anti-terror operations will no longer continue.

He added that the immediate priority of both the Centre and the state was to ensure that the Amarnath yatra, scheduled to start later this month, was conducted peacefully.

Meanwhile, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah in a Tweet said that it was “ the Centre’s initiative and yet these people are celebrating its failure as if it had been announced by our enemies. Its failure is the failure of everyone who wanted to give peace a chance”.

Security and intelligence agencies claimed that there was a sharp increase in terror related incidents during the month-long ceasefire as 66 such cases were reported as compared to 25 the month before that.

However, security sources admitted that there was drop in civilian casualties during the period. Intelligence reports suggest that terror groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed had used the ceasefire period to consolidate and re-group their operatives in the Valley and this could pose a serious threat in the days ahead, particularly to the Amarnath Yatra.

Mr Singh appealed to people to come together in an attempt to isolate militants and prevail upon those who have been misguided to join the mainstream.

Ministry sources claimed that Centre’s J&K interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma will continue to engage with different groups in the state to explore possibilities for bringing peace to the region.

While explaining the logic behind conditional ceasefire, the home minister claimed this was largely to ensure that peace-loving people in J&K could celebrate Ramzan and Id in a conducive and favourable environment.

On Friday, the home minister had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the situation in the Valley.

Minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh said that home ministry has decided that suspension of anti-terror operations will no longer continue. He added that the immediate priority of both the Centre and the state was to ensure that the Amarnath yatra, scheduled to start later this month, was conducted peacefully.

Meanwhile, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah in a Tweet said that it was “ the Centre’s initiative and yet these people are celebrating its failure as if it had been announced by our enemies. Its failure is the failure of everyone who wanted to give peace a chance”.