Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4

Switching back to the practice it discontinued in the early 2000s, the Army in a joint operation with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the J&K Police today carried out a “cordon and search operation” in villages and towns in south Kashmir, signalling a change in military tactics aimed at gaining an upper hand over militancy in the state.This morning, the Army backed by the CRPF and the J&K Police rolled out at least four battalions — comprising 4,000 troops backed by helicopters and UAVs — bringing back the operational strategy used in the 1990s, said a senior functionary.The cordon and search operation, referred to as “CASO” in military parlance, was around specific villages and hamlets suspected to be safe havens for militants in Shopian district, 60 km south of Srinagar. “We have beefed up our counter-infiltration posture in J&K,” Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said in Delhi today.The Army is conducting a combing operation in the state to bring the situation under control, said General Rawat, adding a rise in casualties and bank robberies was a major reason for ordering the operation. Sources said the operation was spread across 80-100 sq kms.The CASO had been discontinued as it caused undue hardship to local population, alienating them from the forces, a senior official in the security establishment said.Instead, the forces had moved to intelligence-backed operations. Top brass of the Army has been told that operations will have to continue and the Army will have to get “physical control of the area”, the sources said.The Army has also told the government that Pakistan-based terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahedeen are operating together and sharing resources — a phenomenon common in the early 2000s.

Getting ‘physical control of area’The Army has brought back cordon and search operation (CASO), used in the 1990s, to bring the situation under control in the ValleyThe Army had switched to intelligence-backed operations in early 2000s as the CASO caused undue hardship to local populationThe top brass has been told that operations will have to continue and the Army will have to get ‘physical control of area’

Will ‘retaliate’ against beheading

• New Delhi: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Thursday reacted to the beheading of two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector in J&K by the Pakistan army, saying the security forces will retaliate to these actions.
• Replying to a volley of questions on whether the Army will respond to the barbaric act, General Rawat, without giving a direct reply, said the armed forces would effectively respond to such actions by the neighbouring country.
• “We do not talk about plans beforehand. We share details after execution of the plan,” General Rawat said. Pressed further, he said, “When this kind of action takes place, we also carry out retaliatory action.” He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event. — TNS