Amit Shah visits the Pulwama attack site, spends time with CRPF personnel visiting the place where 40 CRPF personnel were massacred.
While Amit Shah visits the Pulwama attack site, spending time with the CRPF personnel, he discussed how peace had descended on Kashmir now. Going back to the Pulwaman incident, this occurred in a dastardly bomb attack in February 2019 and Union Home Minister Amit Shah today stated that the government will not permit terrorism at any cost. Shah, who is on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir since October 23, spent time with CRPF personnel at the paramilitary force’s base in Lethpora and chose to sojourn there overnight, postponing his return to Delhi till tomorrow. Lethpora is the place where an explosive-laden vehicle was driven by a suicide bomber into a CRPF convoy on February 14, 2019, killing 40 of the personnel in the most ruthless manner.
The attack, carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), had provoked India to conduct an airstrike at the terror group’s main training center in Balakot in Pakistan on February 26, 2019. Pakistan attempted to carry out an airstrike against India the next day, driving India and Pakistan to the brink of war as tensions intensified. Shah, while interacting with the CRPF personnel, said the government has ‘zero tolerance for terrorism and would not tolerate it as it is against humanity. “Our priority should be to safeguard people,” the Union Home Minister said. Referring to the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019, he said because of sharp vigil by the security forces, not a single bullet was fired after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
“When Article 370 and 35 A were removed, there was a lot of speculation which proved wrong. Many reactions were expected. There were apprehensions of a blood bath. I want to tell you (CRPF and other forces), because of your alertness, not a single bullet was fired. It was a great achievement for all of us,” Shah told the Jawans at the camp.
He praised all the security agencies for ensuring peace in Kashmir when the big decision of scrapping the special status of J&K was taken. “Such a big decision was taken for the interest of Kashmir,” he said He said Kashmir was now seeing a huge development and various institutes are coming to J&K. The Union Minister said the law and order situation has improved on the ground. He said that between 2004 to 2014, the civilian death toll used to be 208 per year, and for forces, the figure was 105.
“From 2014 to this year, the civilian deaths have been reduced to 30 and that of forces to 60 from 105 per year,” he said, adding that these figures show that people of J&K have also accepted the decision. The Minister said there was a time when stone pelting was a norm in Kashmir, but now it has reduced drastically.
However, his comments are controversial in light of the fact that Kashmiris express that the valley feels like it did back in the 1990s. There have been a string of recent targeted killings of civilians in Valley that has triggered new fear among many and the situation is reminiscent of that in the 1990s”
According to a police statement, “So far, 28 civilians have been killed by terrorists in 2021. Out of 28, five persons belong to the local Hindu/Sikh community and 2 non-local Hindu laborers.” Daily, the numbers are rising and these eventually will turn into targeted pogroms because invariably while over 500 people have been arrested, the guilty mostly flee and the innocent get nabbed and incarcerated.
Recently in the Pampore encounter, citizens’ homes also have been destroyed and also destructions of homes during encounters.
There have been 59 civilians killed in militancy-related incidents in J&K in government data up to March. Three, including a prominent Kashmiri Pandit chemist, was shot dead by suspected militants in Jammu and Kashmir on October 5. Three, including a prominent Kashmiri Pandit chemist, were shot dead by suspected militants in Jammu and Kashmir on October 5.
Maximum civilian deaths were reported from Kulgam (15) and Pulwama (12) during militant attacks between August 2019 and March 2021
There have been at least 59 civilians killed and 168 others injured in militancy-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the home ministry data up to March 2021 shows.
The data also suggested that no civilians were killed in law and order situation since the abrogation of Article 370 in the newly formed Union Territory. However, 53 civilians were injured in law and order situations, including 29 from Awantipora alone during the same period.
Among all districts, Kulgam and Pulwama reported maximum civilian deaths of 15 and 12 in militant attacks between August 2019 and March 2021.
Parliament scrapped Article 370 on August 5, 2019, that removed the special status granted to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and also paved ways to split it into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Thus, the Valley is not so safe anymore with Kashmiri pundits and even migrants being attacked as never before. Besides this, tourism is destroyed in Kashmir and businesses have collapsed but the BJP government is still living in denial and keep stating Kashmir is doing better than before. Well, ask the Kashmiris.