Army steps in to calm Jammu and Kashmir

The Army will conduct “area domination” exercise in South Kashmir, the hub of the ongoing street protests, and more paramilitary troopers will be sent to the Valley where clashes paralysed life for the 63rd consecutive day on Friday.

This follows an understanding the Centre has reached with the J&K government that chief minister Mehbooba Mufti will focus on improving governance, while security will be entirely the Union home ministry’s responsibility, sources said.

About 75 people have been killed and thousands wounded in clashes between security forces and protesters in two months of violence sparked by the encounter killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

The state police was not found competent to handle the current crisis as nearly half the deaths reported so far took place in the first three days of violence when most of the central forces were deployed for Amarnath Yatra, government sources said.

When an all-party delegation met groups in Srinagar and Jammu on September 4-5, the PDP-BJP government in the troubled state came under severe criticism for its poor handling of violence.

“General administration has been badly affected due to sustained violence in the Valley. At a time when the Centre is releasing substantial funds for development, we want the state to focus more on administration and getting things back on track,” a senior government functionary said. Rural areas in South Kashmir have witnessed large-scale violence, and there is a growing view in Delhi that security forces need to take this part of the Valley “under total control”, he said. Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday confirmed that the Army was strengthening its presence in the restive region, but added that the move was to counter infiltration and not to tackle unrest in civilian areas. Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag on Friday reviewed the security situation in Kashmir, especially in the four worst affected districts in South Kashmir. He also visited Indian Army formations along the Line of Control. The Centre also asked the J&K government to ensure that prohibitory orders issued are effectively implemented even as at least 40 people, including security personnel, were injured in clashes in Kashmir despite curfew being reimposed in many parts of the Valley.