The dramatic increase in number of casualties among security force personnel in Kashmir is deeply worrying many in the security establishment.
On Tuesday, seven Army personnel were killed and many, including BSF personnel, were injured in two terrorist attacks.
The bloodiest of the two attacks of the day, on an Army mess in Nagrota, came on the day when the Pakistan Army got its new chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who replaced General Raheel Sharif. The Nagrota attack came exactly two months after the Army carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC).
Until Tuesday evening, 89 security personnel have been ‘killed in action’ and almost 200 injured in Jammu and Kashmir this year. Of those killed, 27 were lost post the surgical strikes carried out on September 29. The attrition rate among the Army has been growing tremendously with respect to the terrorists killed.
Informed sources said the high attrition rate particularly of officers in the Army, the world’s highest, can be detrimental in war. “If the company commanders and the second-in-commands get killed in the first wave, there will be no one else to lead or fight during actual war,” a source said.
Experts said a low risk option was being employed by the adversary, and stressed the need to revisit practices to minimise casualties.
“This time, India’s resolve to hit back in the form of surgical strikes has put the other side in the defensive. For them this a low cost, high visibility option,” Lt. Gen. S.L. Narasimhan, a former Infantry Officer, told The Hindu .
New reality
According to data, in the new wave of attacks, militants are able to inflict many more casualties on security forces with each attack than in the past. Data show that while the total number of violent incidents in Kashmir has only gone up marginally from previous years, the number of security personnel killed or injured has dramatically risen.
In 2007, security forces lost 122 men. The numbers dropped to 57 in 2008, and by 2012, it fell to 15. It then began to climb. In 2013, 53 security personnel were killed.
Similar trend is visible in the number of security personnel injured in Jammu and Kashmir.
Exemplary courage by officers’ wives
Bravery of the wives of two Army officers, who were staying in the family quarters, helped avert a major hostage crisis during the Nagrota attack.
Soon after the heavily armed terrorists disguised in police uniform entered an Army unit within three km from the headquarters of the 16 Corps, they wanted to move into the family quarters to take the families of the soldiers and officers hostage.
However, due to the bravery of the two women, who were staying in the family quarters along with their newborn babies, the plans of the terrorists could not materialise.
“The wives of the two Army officers, who were on night duty, when the encounter broke out, displayed exemplary courage as they blocked the entry of their quarters with all the household items, making it difficult for the terrorists to break into the houses,” an Army officer said.
Speaking to Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, Northern Army Commander, Governor N.N. Vohra expressed serious concern over repeated terrorist attacks on the security forces establishment. “Pakistan is continuing with the attempts to exacerbate the situation while India was seeking to restore peace and normality,” said Mr. Vohra.
(With inputs from PTI)
