AMARNATH YATRA Terror threat suspected; Oppn says move will cause panic
Although this unprecedented order would seem to suggest a genuine fear of a massive terror strike directed at Amarnathji yatris or/and tourists, this will do nothing to dampen the sense of fear and foreboding in the Valley.
OMAR ABDULLAH, NC leader and ex-CM
Complete chaos on the streets of Srinagar. People rushing to ATMs, petrol pumps & stocking up on essential supplies. Is GOI only concerned about the safety of yatris while Kashmiris have been left to their own devices?
MEHBOOBA MUFTI, PDP leader and ex-CM
SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: The Amarnath yatra ended 14 days ahead of its scheduled close on August 15 and the counter-insurgency grid in Jammu & Kashmir was strengthened with the additional deployment of security forces following the recovery of a large cache of ammunition, a Pakistanmade anti-personnel mine, and a US-made sniper rifle along the route of the yatra, and intelligence reports that highlighted the increased possibility of suicide bombing attacks in the Kashmir valley.
NITIN KANOTRA/HT■ Visibly upset pilgrims at the base camp in Jammu on Friday.The cancellation of the yatra to one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines, and an alert issued to pilgrims and tourists to return home resulted in panic and a scramble for air tickets — the road from Srinagar to Jammu is closed on account of landslides — even as it unsettled residents of the valley and intensified speculation of a big move in the offing, perhaps the scrapping of Article 35A which restricts some benefits (such as government jobs and property ownership) to permanent residents of the state. Last weekend, the deployment of 100 companies of security forces (around 10,000 men) set off such speculation; HT learns that at least 150 more companies have now been deployed since.
The Union home ministry on Friday issued a guarded statement, saying, “Deployment of paramilitary forces in Jammu and Kashmir is based on the security situation there and requirements of rotation, and such things are not discussed in the public domain.”
In a press conference in Srinagar, the corps commander of the strategic 15 Corps, lieutenant general Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon; J&K director general of police Dilbag Singh; special DG, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Zulfiqar Hasan; and inspector general of police, Kashmir, SP Pani presented the reasons for the scrapping of the yatra, although they sought to play down the increase in deployment.
General Dhillon said searches have underway for the past three to four days after specific inputs of attempts to disrupt the Amarnath yatra by “terrorists, the Pakistan army and Pakistan”. He said that joint teams of the army, police and CRPF carried out extensive searches on both the routes of the yatra and the adjoining areas on the highway as well as the foot track leading up to the holy cave. “We have major successes in these searches, some improvised explosive devices and caches of weapons and explosives have been recovered on these routes. A Pakistan army mine has been recovered,” he said. The general also showed an M-24 American sniper rifle that was also recovered. “The searches are still going on,” he said. The mine, whose pictures were shown to media, General Dhillon said, has “Pakistan ordnance factory markings”.
The decision to curtail the yatra was taken after Indian intelligence picked up heightened activities of Pakistan-based terror groups including the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). “With major threat coming from Pakistanbased groups, particularly JeM, and recovery of M-24 sniper rifle and an anti-personnel mine along the Amarnath pilgrimage route, the government decided not to take any chance. With personnel freed from yatra duties, the security forces can now concentrate on counter-insurgency grid,” said a senior J&K police offer who asked not to be named.
According to inputs conveyed to the national security establishment, Ibrahim Azhar, elder brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, was sighted in Muzaffarabad in PoK last month. He is believed to have been headed to Kashmir. Intelligence reports indicate that Ibrahim Azhar, the main orchestrator of the Indian Airlines IC-814 flight hijacking in 1999, wanted to infiltrate into the Valley and lead attacks against the Indian establishment. JAMMU:An advisory issued by the state government on Friday asking Amarnath yatris and tourists to return homes immediately has caught pilgrims to one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines unawares.
Though no official announcement was made at the Yatri Niwas base camp till 5.30 pm, pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other states were upset at not being able to complete their pilgrimage.
Narayan Sain, 62, a marginal farmer from Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh, said he borrowed money to undertake the pilgrimage, and started crying when he came to know about the government advisory.
“The dream of having a darshan of the lord has been shattered,” said Sain with tearsin hiseyes.
Mohan Rao, 65, from Bidar in Karnataka, one of a group of 40 pilgrims from the state said, “We have travelled over 2,000 kms in buses to reach here. Each one of us has spent ₹30,000 for the Yatra. Now, cancelling it and asking us to return home is totally a wrong decision,” he said. Some pilgrims were still hopeful. Baba Krishnajee Achalkar, 66, from Kottyam said, “We have travelled over 3300 km with a desire to pay obeisance at the shrine. We have come here for the first time and we urge the government to review its decision and allow the remaining pilgrims to visit the shrine.”
In the wake of the prevailing situation and the government order in the Kashmir valley, Indian airlines including Air India, Vistara, GoAir and IndiGo have announced a full fee waiver on rescheduling or cancellation of flights to and from Srinagar.