‘No security arrangements for Wani’s first death anniversary’

File Photo of most wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani (R), who was killed during an encounter in Anantnag district of South Kashmir on July 8 last year.

The Centre said on Wednesday that it was not making any special security arrangements for the first death anniversary of Hizb “commander” Burhan Wani whose killing had led to violence in the Valley last year, even as security forces insisted that they expected a wave of violence in the next few days.

A senior official of the Home Ministry said Wani was “one of the hundreds of terrorists killed in the Kashmir Valley” in the past year and there “was nothing special about him”. “Terrorism in Kashmir continues to be a priority for us, but making an assessment of a short-term development [Wani’s death] would be inaccurate,” the official said.

As on June 12, 77 militants were killed, 32 on the Line of Control and 45 in the Valley. In the corresponding period last year, 54 were killed. This year, there were 115 attempts by terrorists to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir from across the border, and 19 were successful. The number of ceasefire violations by Pakistan during the same time has also gone up sharply. Till June 12 this year, 166 violations were reported, as against just five last year.

‘J&K still a priority’

Another official said the number of Central forces and soldiers deployed in the Valley was the highest ever, and the Amarnath Yatra also contributed to the surge.

According to an estimate by the Army, the level of violence and attacks by militants in the Valley was expected to go up sharply in the next few months. “We know for sure that violence will go up, but there is general uneasiness on the nature of it. We have no specific inputs about the nature of attacks planned by terrorist groups in wake of the anniversary of Wani’s killing,” said an Army officer.

The Army has five additional battalions (5,000 men) for the Amarnath Yatra, all beyond Banihal, of which three battalions will be on the National Highway ahead of the Jawahar tunnel.

An official explained that there was a steep rise in the number of locals joining terrorist groups. Though the Centre chose to stay in denial about Wani’s death anniversary, the State government announced a 10-day summer break for all educational institutions in the Valley from July 6. The vacation coincides with a protest schedule issued by the United Jehad Council (UJC), an amalgam of militant organisations operating in the Valley. Last year, school vacation was from July 1 to 17.