New Delhi, January 13

In a major step towards thwarting Pakistan’s attempts to increase terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army is launching Operation Sarvashakti, where the security forces will be targeting the terrorists operating on both sides of the Pir Panjal mountain ranges in the UT.

In recent times, Pakistani proxy terrorist groups have tried to revive terrorism in the South of Pir Panjal ranges, especially in the Rajouri Poonch sector, where around 20 troops have been killed in attacks by terrorists, with the latest being on December 21, when four soldiers were killed in the Dera ki Gali area there.

Search operations underway in Poonch

• Massive search operations are underway in Poonch district on Saturday to track down terrorists who had fired on a convoy of Army vehicles a day ago
• Troops are using sniffer dogs to track the terrorists
• Lt Gen Navin Sachdeva, GOC, White Knight Corps, met Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan and briefed him on the current security situation in the Poonch area

“Operation Sarvashakti would be to carry out combined counter-terrorist operations from both sides of the Pir Panjal ranges where the formations of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps along with the Nagrota-headquartered White Knight Corps would be carrying out simultaneous operations,” sources in the security forces said.

“The Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF, Special Operations Group, and the intelligence agencies would be working in close coordination to thwart Pakistani designs to revive terrorist activities in the UT, especially in the Rajouri Poonch sector,” they added.

The operations are expected to be on the lines of Operation Sarpvinash, which was launched in 2003 to eliminate terrorists from the same areas in the South of Pir Panjal range.

Army Chief General Manoj Pande recently stated that terrorist activities had almost vanished in the area since 2003, but the western adversary is now trying to revive it there.He along with the Northern Command had also held detailed discussions with the Corps Commanders on ways to tackle the threat from these terrorists.