“Déjà vu in Kashmir: Resurgence of Islamic Militancy,’ Think South Asia (SADF, Brussels).

The reality so far in global geopolitics is ‘once a contested land, always a contested land’. The best example has been Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Over 65 years have passed since the first batch of Pakistani intruders, with the help of army regulars, came face to face with the Indian army, and the violence continues unabated in the J&K. Since then, India and Pakistan have fought at least three major wars and as many skirmishes, with intermittent, mostly half-hearted and ineffective bilateral peace overtures from both sides.

Blatant cases of ceasefire violation triggered heavy exchanges of fire at the LoC, and reports of massive militant infiltration came to light in early 2013. Since then, fears of an impending border conflict have increased manifold between the two neighbouring nuclear weapon powers as a series of ceasefire violations, terrorist incursions and suicide attacks on Indian Army and police forces virtually marked the onset of a long battle at the Line of Control (LoC). One estimate suggests there have been nearly 120 incidents of ceasefire violation from the Pakistan side along the LoC in J&K until late September this year, the highest since 2008.

Indian Army and paramilitary forces are always busy fighting a two-pronged war at the LoC: preventing infiltration of militants into Jammu and Kashmir and, at the same time, tackling provocative firing from the Pakistan side, which acts as a cover for sneaking militants. Gunfire and shelling from the Pakistani side of the LoC are common when simultaneous attempts are made to push militant proxies into Indian Territory. Indian Army has been engaged in an ongoing anti-infiltration operation in the Shalbhatti locality in Keran Sector since September 23 after noticing a group of 30 to 40 Pakistan-based militants attempting to intrude into Kashmir.

Animesh Roul, “Déjà vu in Kashmir: Resurgence of Islamic Militancy," Think South Asia (South Asia Democratic Forum, Bulletin No.10, November 2013)

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