MHA sought report on J&K
The Union home ministry did foolproof groundwork in the run-up to the hanging of Afzal Guru. According to highly placed government sources, the home ministry had sought a detailed security review report about the prevailing law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley from Central intelligence agencies nearly 10 days ago.
Since information on Afzal’s hanging was highly classified, with only a select few top officials in the security establishment aware of it, the intelligence agencies, too, were not told about the exact reason why the report had been sought.
In their report, intelligence agencies described the present security situation in the Valley as “well under control”.
The home ministry was informed that since the number of active militants operating in the Valley had fallen below 200 the security forces were well-prepared to handle any eventuality.
The report also stated that the number of militants was one of the lowest since militancy broke out in Kashmir nearly two decades ago. Infiltration too dipped during the winter season as most mountain passes were blocked due to snow. During peak militancy in the Valley, terror outfits maintained a strength of 1,000 to 1,200 militants in the region. The number of casualties, both for security forces and civilians, in militant-related attacks in the Valley are also one of the lowest at present.
The intelligence agencies, however, had a word of caution that in case of any major operation being planned certain preventive measures like imposing curfew, regulating use of mobile phones, Internet and cable TV should be put in place. And this is precisely what the MHA did.
The home ministry claimed no major untoward incident was reported from the Valley in the wake of preventive measures. In addition, border-guarding forces like the BSF along the international border and the Army along the Line of Control have also been put on alert.
“It was only after we were sure that situation in Kashmir was well under control that the hanging was carried out. We will keep reviewing the situation in the Valley regularly. Our assessment is that there may be no immediate retaliation but Pakistan-based terror outfits will use Afzal’s hanging to foment trouble during the coming summer season as their cadre will re-group by then,” a senior MHA official remarked.
But it is not just the situation in the Valley that the Centre is concerned about. The MHA has issued an advisory to all states to step up vigil, particularly in sensitive areas. Home secretary R.K. Singh also confirmed that adequate preventive measures have been taken.
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