Security forces focus on eliminating Jaish

The killing of Jaish-e-Mohammad’s divisional commander, Mehmood Bhai has dealt a blow to the organisation’s ability to carry out suicide attacks in Kashmir, S.P. Ved, Jammu and Kashmir director general of police has told media. The success of the Army’s “Operation All-Out” in South Kashmir can be attributed to the jawans working on the ground to neutralise militants, Ved said. The Army, CRPF and J&K Police have acted in a coordinated manner in Kashmir and have been able to kill about 200 militants, including top militant commanders this year. Ved said that Mehmood was the main brain behind motivating and organising suicide squads to carry out attacks in Kashmir, adding that his killing has demoralised the entire Jaish network in the valley and will force other members of his organisation to look for cover as the security forces were eliminating them in a systematic manner. He said that Pakistan has now been providing US-made M4 rifles to militants and claimed having reports of such weapons with militants in South Kashmir. Muneer Ahmad Khan, inspector general of police, Kashmir range, told this newspaper that the Jaish was a new security challenge and that “they were working on the ground to eliminate their main commanders”. He said that the focus of all anti-militancy operations is to “break the back of Jaish” as “they are planning deadly suicide attacks in Kashmir”. He said that the recently killed Pakistani national in a gunfight at Samboora in South Kasmir was a top Jaish arms trainer in the valley. He further said that it was a huge success when they eliminated three Jaish militants in the Aglar village of Pulwama district, including Maulana Masood Azhar’s nephew, Talha Rashid.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had recently said that “Operation All-Out” will continue in Kashmir till the last militant is eliminated, adding that anti-militancy operations will not stop even after Government of India has decided to hold a sustained dialogue with all shades of opinion, including separatists, in Kashmir. S.P. Ved has said that militancy and the eruption of protests have been contained.