New Delhi:

The recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir show that terrorism has been forced to shrink to a proxy war from highly organised acts of violence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said at a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation. The minister said the fight against terror in the Union Territory is in its decisive phase. 

In Sunday’s meeting at the North Block, which was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha and Army Chief Manoj Pande among others, Mr Shah also directed security agencies to replicate the successes achieved in Kashmir valley through the area domination and the Zero Terror Plan in the Jammu division as well. 

The recent attacks, in which nine pilgrims and a CRPF personnel were killed, had taken place in Jammu. 

Reiterating the zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, Mr Shah asserted that the PM Narendra Modi-led government will leave no stone unturned in rooting out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir. The home minister directed security agencies to work in mission mode and ensure quick response in a coordinated manner while identifying vulnerable areas and addressing security concerns there.

Pointing out the changes that have come about in the Kashmir Valley, the minister said the efforts of the government of India have yielded positive results with a significant reduction in terror-related incidents and this is reflected in the record flow of tourists in the Kashmir Valley.

He also appreciated the role of the security agencies and the Jammu and Kashmir administration for the successful conduct of the Lok Sabha elections, which witnessed a record voter turnout in the Union Territory.

Officials said the home minister was given a thorough briefing on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the places where security forces plan to intensify counter-terrorism operations in the coming days.

Mr Shah’s meeting came three days after the Prime Minister held a similar stock-taking exercise and directed officials to deploy the “full spectrum of counter-terror capabilities”.

Terror Attacks

Terrorists struck four places in the Reasi, Kathua and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir in as many days last week, killing nine pilgrims headed to a temple as well as a CRPF personnel. Seven security personnel and several others were injured. Two suspected Pakistani terrorists were also killed in an encounter in Kathua.

On June 9, terrorists opened fire on a 53-seater bus carrying pilgrims when it was en route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra from the Shiv Khori temple. The bus, which had pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, plunged into a gorge, killing nine people and injuring 41 others.

On June 11, terrorists fired at a joint checkpost of the Rashtriya Rifles and police at Chattergalla in Bhaderwah while a search party in the Gandoh area of Doda district was attacked the next day, resulting in injuries to seven security personnel, including a policeman.

Security For Amarnath Yatra 

In another meeting, the home minister reviewed the preparations for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage and said the government’s priority is to ensure the smooth conduct of the yatra so that pilgrims don’t face any difficulties. The yatra begins on June 29 and Mr Shah instructed to ensure sufficient deployment of personnel.

Under the leadership of PM Modi, the government is committed to ensure a convenient and hassle-free experience for devotees and adopt eco-friendly measures in management of the Amarnath pilgrimage.

Over 4.5 lakh devotees visited the cave shrine last year. The pilgrims travel through two routes, Baltal and Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Srinagar:

The National Conference on Friday said it would not agree a seat-share deal with the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the Lok Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir, a development that comes as setback for the opposition INDIA bloc. NC leader Omar Abdullah’s swipe at the PDP underlined the rift between the two regional parties, each of which has declared it will contest the poll on its own.

“I have told you… the party that is No. 3 has no right to ask for a seat. If I had been told, before joining INDIA, we would have to weaken ourselves for another member, I would have never joined,” Mr Abdullah said.

This was after PDP boss Mehbooba Mufti said her party too is planning to fight this election on its own. She said the PDP would decide candidates for J&K’s five seats and the one in Ladakh.

READ | Another INDIA Setback As PDP Preps For “Own Fight” In Polls

“Since they (the National Conference) have already taken a decision… we will discuss it. There will be deliberations and a future course of action will be decided (soon),” the PDP’s Suhail Bukhari said.

That comment, in turn, was after one by Farooq Abdullah – Mr Abdullah’s father.

READ | Farooq Abdullah’s Party To Fight Alone In J&K In Setback For INDIA

“As far as seat sharing is concerned, I want to make it clear NC will contest elections on its own. There should be no questions on this…” he had said last month. Hours later Omar Abdullah attempted damage control, stating (with his father by his side) the NC “is still” part of INDIA.

READ | After Farooq Abdullah’s Comment On INDIA, Son Omar Clarifies

Farooq Abdullah’s comment was seen as the former Chief Minister expressing concern over the stalemate between his party, the PDP, and the Congress in reaching a seat-share agreement.

As this back-and-forth continued, Omar Abdullah also made it clear there was no scenario in which the National Conference would ally with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

“Let me make it clear… there is no window, or even a crack, open for the NDA… there is no possibility of us joining them,” he said in response to speculation the NC would quit INDIA.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP and Mr Abdullah’s NC split the six seats, with the former winning Ladakh, Udhampur, and Jammu, and the latter claiming Baramulla, Srinagar (where Mr Modi on Thursday held a massive rally), and Anantnag.

The PDP contested all six but failed to win any, and went home with an overall vote share of less than four per cent. The NC secured a vote share of just under eight per cent. The Congress, which also failed to win any seats, picked up around 28 per cent of the votes.

Talks for the 2024 election have reportedly stalled over the PDP’s demand for the Anantnag seat, which is currently held by the NC but was won by Ms Mufti in 2004 and 2014. It was also won by Ms Mufti’s father, ex-Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in 1998; he was then with the Congress.

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Srinagar:

India has stopped the flow of water from the Ravi river into Pakistan by building a dam that was waiting for completion for 45 years. India has exclusive rights to the water of Ravi under the 1960 Indus water treaty signed under the supervision of the World Bank.  

The Shahpur Kandi barrage — located in Punjab’s Pathankot district — was held up by a domestic dispute between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.  But that led to substantial chunk of water that belongs to India, going to Pakistan all these years.

Under the Indus water treaty, India has full rights over the water of Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, while Pakistan has rights over the water of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

In 1979, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir governments signed an agreement to build Ranjit Sagar Dam and downstream Shahpur Kandi barrage to stop water to Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, then chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and his Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal.

In 1982, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi laid foundation for the project, which was expected to be completed by 1998.

While construction of Ranjit Sagar Dam was completed in 2001, Shahpur Kandi barrage couldn’t materialise and water from Ravi river continued flow into Pakistan.

In 2008, Shahpur Kandi project was declared national project but construction work started in 2013.

Ironically, the project was again stalled due to disputes between Punjab and J&K in 2014.

Finally in 2018, the Centre mediated and brokered an agreement between the two states. The work, which started soon after, is finally over.

The water which was going to Pakistan will now be used to irrigate two key districts of Jammu and Kashmir — Kathua and Samba. 1150 cusecs of water will now irrigate 32,000 hectares of land in the Union Territory.

Jammu and Kashmir will also be able to get 20 per cent of the hydel power generated from dam.

The 55.5 meters high Shahpurkandi Dam is part of a multi-purpose river valley project that includes two hydel power projects with a total installed capacity of 206 MW. It is built on river Ravi, 11 km downstream of Ranjit Sagar Dam Project.

Besides Jammu and Kashmir, the waters from the dam will also help Punjab and Rajasthan.

Jammu:

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has set up a six-member committee to identify foreign nationals who are illegally staying in the Union Territory since January 2011. 

The home department in an order stated that the committee will prepare a monthly report and submit it by the seventh day of every month to the Union home ministry.

The financial commissioner-cum-additional chief secretary of the home department will be the chairperson of the panel which was constituted in response to a November 26, 2020, communication by the home ministry, the order read.

The members of the committee include the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) of Punjab, senior superintendents of police (SSPs), the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Special Branch) of both Jammu and Srinagar, and all SSPs and SPs (Foreigners Registration Office).

In 2021, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had launched a major crackdown against illegal immigrants and detained over 270 Rohingyas from Myanmar, including 74 women and 70 children, at the sub-jail in Kathua district’s Hiranagar.

The jail was eventually turned into a holding centre for foreigners staying illegally in the Union Territory.

Rohingyas are a Bengali-dialect speaking Muslim minority in Myanmar. Following persecution in their country, many of them entered India illegally through Bangladesh and took shelter in Jammu and other parts of the country.

More than 13,700 foreigners, including Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals, are settled in Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, where their population has increased by more than 6,000 between 2008 and 2016, according to government data.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)