Alleging that elements across the border in Pakistan, hostile to the interest of civil welfare and general prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir, were trying to disturb the peace and drag the Union Territory back to the dark days of militancy and violence, said Director General Police Officer RR Swain on Saturday warned locals to remain awake and alert to the threat from the ‘adversary’.
His comments come close on the heels of the Rajouri encounter in which the armed forces gunned down two Pakistani terrorists who were holed up in a cave in a densely forested area in the district.
Five soldiers, including two senior officers, were killed in the encounter between terrorists and a joint team of the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police in Bajimaal area of Rajouri district on Wednesday.
Among the two terrorists who neutralized the forces was dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba sniper Qari, who was reportedly involved in several recent terrorist incidents in the UT.
The soldiers, who bore the supreme sacrifice in the gunfight in Rajouri, were identified as Captain MV Pranjal, Captain Shubham Gupta, Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht, paratrooper Sachin Laur and Havildar Abdul Majid.
Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a Janta Darbar in Poonch on Saturday, DGP Swain said, “I have no reason to be overly worried about the recent events. But I believe that an ordinary citizen, especially one living in the Jammu province, must remain mentally alert as the adversary’s intentions remain hostile. However, their ability to cause harm is not what they want to project.”
On the prevailing political crisis in Pakistan and the challenges of securing India’s borders, the DGP said: “It is a long, porous and difficult border, and the system of the entire country has been undermined, or complicated as I would call it. So we have a challenge on our hands.”
Acknowledging that cross-border terrorism continues to pose a major challenge to the security forces in the UT, the DGP added: “Nobody is shying away from the reality that there is a challenge. But the Indian state and its government have the resources, the will and the determination to defeat it.”
Allaying fears of terrorism from across the LoC impacting social life in the Valley, the DGP said, “The state will not allow terrorism to become a matter of concern where normal life, business, activities, peace and security would be disrupted.” derailed.
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