Centre plans new security matrix for J&K, more surprise crackdowns on terrorists now

In the past two months, attacks and ambushes have become regular events, particularly in the southern reaches of Pir Panjal, an area in which the spectre of terrorism had lain dormant for a long time.

Among recent ones, there was an operation in which two Army officers were killed and two Pakistani terrorists, one of them a Lashkar-e-Taiba sniper and explosives expert, were eliminated.

Overall, casualties among security forces have doubled this year compared to the past three.

According to NDTV, 17 security personnel, and as many civilians, have been killed this year.

A senior official told NDTV the increased number of military casualties is the forces' "primary concern" and this is why deployment in the area is being rationalised with new combinations.

A senior Home Ministry official said the government "cannot lose sight of the Kashmir Valley but, at the same time, we need to secure the Jammu region also".

This is why, the official explained, forces were being mobilised for deployment.

The government has begun a project to fence borders but, so far in Jammu, only 70 of 180 km have been fenced. The challenge includes the fact it is difficult to patrol areas marked as riverine with elephant grass in the rainy season.

Now, two battalions of BSF, or Border Security Force, troops comprising of 2,000 personnel have been airlifted from Odisha. They will be in Samba sector and plug gaps on the Jammu-Punjab border.

Incidentally, this comes after RR Swain, the Director-General of J&K Police, identified Punjab as one of the main routes of infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir.