Maintaining atmosphere of peace biggest challenge: Outgoing GOC

With around 80 militants active in Kashmir, the biggest challenge is to maintain the present situation, said Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, the outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, on Thursday.

“The official number, according to the multi-agency centre, is around 80 — lowest in many years. When I came here last year, we were looking at numbers past the 100-mark,” Ghai told reporters in Srinagar.

Hoping that the number of active militants would go down further, the top Army commander said Kashmir had a few good years, but this process needs to go on for a few more years for lasting peace. The GOC said, “The challenge is to be able to maintain the situation. We need a few more good years to make this peace last...Withdrawal of troops is not recommended at this stage. Whether it’s the counter-infiltration grid on the Line of Control or the counter-terrorism grid that is deployed within the Valley, it has to be maintained and sustained.”

“We are in a consolidation phase, and therefore, in my view, no dilution of the grid is either recommended and I definitely am not a proponent of that at this stage.”

Responding to a question, the top Army commander said last year, the number of militant recruitment was down to a dozen, while it was ‘almost next to nil’ this year.

The Army commander also said security agencies would soon be able break the encryption of Ultra Set, the encrypted telecom equipment being used by militants. He said they don’t have any specifics about any concerning situation, which can emerge after the results of Assembly poll on October 8.

Ghai further said the infiltration attempts from the LoC in Kashmir were less this time. “This year, we saw, there were people on launch pads across the LoC, but we used to get inputs from intelligence agencies that they would make attempts. But, there were not many attempts of infiltration this summer,” he said.

“However, infiltration could happen from areas other than the Line of Control. This is why, we saw incidence (of militancy) rising a little in Jammu, which used to be peaceful. This suggests a possible change in their infiltration strategy.”

Answering a question about tactical silence by militant outfits in the Kashmir valley, the top commander said the Army was analysing the possible reasons. “Why this eerie silence? Those questions are there in our heads too and as it should be…We are in the process of analysing the situation,” he said, adding that the robust security architect did deter, not only during elections but also during other significant events like traditional pilgrimage.