Security forces have launched a major search operation in high reaches of Jammu against militants responsible for attacks on security forces last year in different districts of the region.
The operation has been initiated at the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to prevent a repeat of last year's action by militants in the summer. An expected 35 to 40 militants—many of them foreigners—are hiding in the upper reaches near the LoC.
No major militant activities were witnessed during winter. However, the security forces are pre-empting a repeat of last year's attacks by militants by carrying out a large-scale operation spanning eight districts.
A shift in the attacks by militants has been observed since 2021 as militants have carried out some deadly attacks in the border districts of Rajouri, Pooch, Doda, Udhampur, Kathua and Jammu. In one attack in June last year, a bus carrying pilgrims from Mata Vaishno Devi to Shiv Khori was also attacked in which seven pilgrims, a diver and the conductor of the bus were killed after the bus fell into a gorge.
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The operation also has gained urgency given the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) is likely to become operational in February. Trains from Delhi will ply to Katra and Srinagar and back. This is the first time that Kashmir has been connected with the rest of India by rail. Currently, trains travel from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Sangaldan in Ramban covering a distance of more than 180km.
With the pending stretch between Sangaldan and Katra, the safety runs have been completed and trains between Katra and Srinagar are ready to be operational following a successful trial run of the Vande Bharat Express from Katra to Budgam. This development increases the need for heightened vigilance to prevent potential attacks.
