Poonch on target: Repeated attempts from the anti-national elements to disturb peace raise alarm bells among the security agencies; Terror associates managing their entry into vital security installations are a big concern

Poonch on target: Repeated attempts from the anti-national elements to disturb peace raise alarm bells among the security agencies; Terror associates managing their entry into vital security installations are a big concern

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH: The confidence of anti-social and anti-national forces has increased a lot during recent times because of not facing a tough challenge from the security forces; as a result, many attempts have been made by the Pakistan-backed forces to disturb peace at various places of the border district.

From the Degwar poster incident a few months ago, where the minority community members were directed to leave the area, to the recent Kanuyian sacrilegious act, the Jhullas school incident in which a teacher and some locals played a mischievous role aimed at disturbing peace, the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunition from different places in the district, and other attempts to create unrest on minor issues, it shows that the anti-social and anti-national forces behind the curtains have been planning every move to disturb the peaceful Poonch district on the directions of their mentors sitting across the border. In the last few years, the Poonch district has become a battlefield after the revival of terrorism through some big terrorist attacks in the BG and DKG regions in which many army soldiers attained martyrdom. Those involved in high-profile terrorist attacks in the Poonch-Rajouri belt have still not been brought to justice and it raises a big question mark on DIG and SSPs of twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. During Operation Sindoor also, the people of Poonch suffered a lot, as there was a lack of coordination between the civil administration and the security forces; as a result, people were seen rushing here and there to save their lives. A senior citizen of Poonch, who witnessed the 1971 war, on the condition of anonymity, said, “Our forces made us proud, but had the security forces responded promptly and strongly to Pakistan’s aggression, the situation in Poonch city would have been different, but it’s sad that we lost 13 innocent people, including three children.” As Poonch was already going through the tough phase post Operation Sindoor, the recent attempts from the anti-social and anti-national forces to disturb the Poonch district again have become a cause of big concern. Although Poonch police time and again have managed to control the situation and also have downplayed such incidents by not taking strong action, it’s the common man of Poonch that is worried a lot due to continuous attempts from such tainted forces to disturb the district on one or the other issue. Those who remained involved in various violations of laws and activities detrimental to the national interest over the years unfortunately have become well-known faces in the police, army, and civil administration setups, and it points towards an utter intelligence breakdown of these top institutions. Who knows which person is working for which anti-national agency and has sent which information across the border by visiting the vital security installations? Who are the advisors of the civil administration, police, and army on various issues of internal security concerns? Moreover, in a shocking development, some terror associates earlier managed to enter vital security installations for work; however, in a professional display of intelligence gathering and swift action, Poonch police arrested some terror associates belonging to some terror organizations along with a number of AK rifles and have averted a possible big tragedy inside the vital security installations of Poonch district. It’s alarming that concerned security officials were unaware of the presence of anti-national elements in their setups. Although Poonch police, with the help of intelligence agencies, have averted a big tragedy by arresting the terror associates with weapons, the question arises how many such people with an anti-national ideology have managed their entries into the security forces for work and were able to send sensitive information of security importance across the border. It’s a big internal security concern for which the concerned authorities need to conduct a security audit of every vital installation in the district. On the other hand, the inability of the police to strongly tackle attempts from anti-social and anti-national elements to disturb peace could prove disastrous for the future, going by the latest national and international scenario. Unless police adopt a tough approach against the forces inimical to peace, things will not change on the ground. The people of Poonch have suffered a lot from the acts of revival of terrorism and from Pakistani shelling during Operation Sindoor, and now the recent attempts to disturb peace in Degwar, Kanuyian, and Jhullas-type incidents show that the forces inimical to peace have been working on their agenda silently by activating their men and machinery across the district. Although the police have achieved a big success in the hinterland by arresting terror associates of the terror outfits, a lot needs to be done to completely dismantle the emerging terror ecosystem. Moreover, coordination between the civil administration and the security forces needs to be strengthened more for the future, as a lack of it already proved fatal during Operation Sindoor, which led to the killings of 13 innocent people, including the three children, namely Vihaan Bhargav and siblings Zain Khan and Zoya Khan. However, the latest attempts to disturb the peace by anti-national elements and the presence of tainted forces in the security installations have already raised alarm bells, and it’s time for the security forces to show their dominance over the anti-national ecosystem. It’s a challenging task for the security forces to find out how many people, if any, in any form, because of their self-interest, close to the civil administration and the security installations are working for the anti-national agencies by leaking sensitive information, as evident from the recent arrest of some terror associates by Poonch police. It’s high time for the government to keep the internal security aspect of the Poonch district on top by taking on forces inimical to peace strongly, the failure of which will lead to a massive internal security crisis in the near future, as anti-national forces were doing a lot tactfully to disturb the peaceful district, which is known for its communal harmony. It’s a wake-up call for the security forces in the district to strengthen their intelligence network because the presence of anti-national elements in any form entering the vital security installations again, going by the recent arrest of some terror associates by Poonch police in tehsil Mandi of Poonch district, cannot be ruled out, and those officers who have failed in performing their professional duties due to one or other reasons need to be brought under an investigation, as it’s a case of a complete national security concern in the Poonch district.