The temporary lull in terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir has been broken, putting a big question mark on the Centre’s claim that normalcy has more or less returned. On Wednesday last, an Army Colonel Manpreet Singh, commanding officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Dhonack, and Deputy Superintendent Humayun Bhat were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in Garol area of Anantnag district.

And though the Home Ministry data says there has been a 32% reduction in acts of terror between 2019 and 2022, recently there have been other renewed attacks on security targets south of the Pri Panjal range in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch. 

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said, ‘such incidents will continue if there is no dialogue…India and Pakistan will have to come to the dialogue table if they want to end bloodshed and find lasting peace in J&K’. Indeed, peace is fragile in the Union Territory and the Centre will need to ensure that it can’t let down the guard, even as it boasted of a successful meeting of the G-20 in Kashmir. There is a need for continuing vigilance and a better vigilance network.   

At the same time, the Opposition should be more responsible. Unfortunately, in today’s charged political atmosphere, the INDIA bloc has sought to score brownie points and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of ‘silence’ over the incident and instead being felicitated at the BJP headquarters over the G20 Summit success and was campaigning in Madhya Pradesh. No healing touch for the families. 

The Congress said, ‘Modi can’t postpone receiving accolades no matter what happens’; the AAP said Modi was “celebrating the G20” while the families of the four soldiers who died in J&K were in “shock”. It also recalled that Modi was busy shooting a show with a television host Bear Grylls at the time of the Pulwama attack.

Sharing the video of the rousing welcome accorded to Modi at party headquarters, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Thackeray faction said ‘this could have been postponed, expected more sensitivity, especially on a day when our security forces have fought a fierce fight with militants in Kashmir’; RJD leader Manoj Jha slammed the BJP saying the ruling party held ‘celebrations at its headquarters even as three soldiers and a police officer were killed in a gunbattle with terrorists.’ 

Playing politics over the tragic killings in Anantnag should have been a no-go. 

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