Srinagar/Jammu: J&K CM Omar Abdullah attributed Saturday the rise in terrorist activities in Jammu to the redeployment of troops to Ladakh following Chinese incursions in April 2020. “These (infiltrations and attacks) are not new. For the past three or four years, you have witnessed such cases in many areas of Jammu, including Reasi and even Jammu city,” Abdullah said after visiting the families of four policemen killed in an anti-terrorist operation in Kathua.
Following multiple Chinese incursions in 2020, the Army deployed the “Uniform Force” of its specialised counterinsurgency unit Rashtriya Rifles to eastern Ladakh, reducing troop presence in Jammu. This created opportunities for Pakistan to push infiltrators, according to security experts. “When China attacked or entered Ladakh, we needed the Army to tackle the situation there,” the CM said.
“The Army stationed in Jammu was sent to Ladakh, creating a vacuum, which is now being rectified gradually.” The region remains in mourning following the deaths of four policemen in Thursday’s gunfight in the forested Sufain area of Kathua. The slain men — head constable Jagbir Singh, constables Tariq Ahmad, Balwinder Singh Chib, and Jaswant Singh — were killed after security forces came under fire from terrorists hiding in the woods.
The bodies were retrieved Friday and Saturday. Heartbreak rippled through villages as grieving families and neighbours gathered to pay their respects. In Reasi district’s Chamba.