Author:
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 11, 2001
The past week of the unilateral
ceasefire announced by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee in Jammu and Kashmir
has been particularly cruel for our security forces. Thirty-eight of our
men, 20 of them policemen and 18 Army soldiers, have been killed in this
period.
The police forces lost 15 of their
men when militants ambushed and blasted a vehicle at Manjakote in Rajouri,
northern Jammu district, on March 2, the worst incident against the police
in the more than decade-old secessionist violence in the state.
This month has been particularly
bad for the state police. Till Thursday, they had lost 20 of its men, the
highest ever toll in a week, in the past 12 years.
They lost six personnel In October
last year, 14 in November, four in December and two in January this year.
But they lost as many as 22 in the month of February. The unilateral cease-fire
began on 28th November, the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramdan.
These statistics have been highlighted
in an official release circulated here, focussing on the first 100 days
of the ceasefire. The ceasefire has been extended thrice and will now last
up to May 31.
An official spokesman noted that
the worst attack was the militants' ambush on the police party in Rajouri
on March 2.
While militant-related incidents
have shown a marginal decline, the killing of civilians and policemen at
the hands of militants has increased in Jammu and Kashmir during the first
100 days of the Government's unilateral ceasefire.
More than 650 people have lost their
lives during this period (average of seven a day), the majority of them
being civilians.
Ironically, the ceasefire is aimed
at bringing relief to the civilian population.
As a result of the unilateral non-initiation
of combat operations (NICO), casualties among the militants have decreased
steeply during the ceasefire.
Against the killing of 535 militants
during the 100 days before the ceasefire, only 243 militants were killed
during the cease-fire. This represents a 55 per cent decline. On the other
hand, during the ceasefire the militants gunned down 288 civilians, 86
more than in the preceding 100 days.
This indicates an increase of 42
per cent in 100 days. Forty eight policemen lost their lives in militant
attacks during the ceasefire against only 26 in the preceding 100 days.
Apart from usual incidents, the
police suffered major casualties in "Fidayeen" or suicide attacks on the
Srinagar police control room on February 9 and the ambush near Manjakote,
Rajouri, in March. These two attack alone took a toll of 21 policemen.
The killing of special police officers
(SPOs), Village Defence Committee (VDC) members and Ikhwanis or pro-India
militants has also shown an upward trend.
Their casualties have increased
from 30 to 45, an increase of 50 percent. The killing of SPOs has increased
from 18 to 23, VDC members from 4 to 6 and Ikhwanis from 8 to 16.
As regards other security forces,
their killing has declined but the number of injured have increased. While
65 security personnel have lost their lives in militants attacks, 291 men
have been injured.
In the 100 days before the ceasefire,
they had lost 109 personnel while 162 men suffered injuries. If the number
of incidents is taken as the indicator of the violence level, it has remained
almost the same. Against 1,023 incidents in the 100 days prior to the ceasefire,
the period after its imposition witnessed 964 incidents, a decline of 59
incidents (6 per cent) in 100 days.
While incidents of grenade attacks
and firing by militants have increased, cross firing and abduction have
reduced. During the ceasefire, 207 incidents of grenade attacks and blasts
took place while their number was 131 in the preceding 100 days.
Similarly, random firing incidents
increased from 176 to 259, which resulted in a higher toll among civilians
(215 against 142 in the pre-ceasefire period). The casualties from grenades
and blasts increased from 23 to 49 during this period.
On the other hand, cross firing
and abduction incidents declined from 418 and 91 to 255 and 60 respectively.
Casualties in cross firing have also declined from 37 to 24. However, fidayeen
attacks increased steeply. In 13 such attacks, 41 persons have been killed
and 154 injured.
