- Friday, October 25, 2024
The routes around the site of the attack in Gulmarg was closed and the Gondola ropeway service was also shut for a few hours as a precautionary measure
By: Shajil Kumar
SECURITY forces on Friday launched a massive search operation along the Line of Control, deploying drones and helicopters to trace terrorists who killed two soldiers and as many porters in the Gulmarg sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
The combing and search operation began along the LoC and the area near the Thursday’s attack site, but widened to cover the hinterland by the evening, the officials said.
Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar said the Unified Headquarters discussed the spate of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir at a meeting in Srinagar and formulated a strategy, with focus on dismantling the entire terror ecosystem.
The routes around the site of the attack was closed and the Gondola ropeway service at the resort town was also shut for a few hours as a precautionary measure, even though tourist movement towards the ski-resort was going on smoothly.
Ruling National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said attacks like these would continue until India and Pakistan found a way to be friends.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps and paid floral tributes to the slain soldiers and porters.
The terrorists had ambushed an army vehicle in the Bota Pathri area, around six kilometres from the tourist hotspot Gulmarg in Baramulla district.
In his media briefing in Udhampur, Lieutenant General Kumar on Friday said the Unified Headquarters has formulated a strategy to deal with such attacks.
“The core of this strategy is to strengthen the relationship between citizens and soldiers while encouraging nationalist and mainstream narratives, particularly among youths,” he told the press conference.
The focus is on breaking the cycle of violence, dismantling the terror ecosystem, empowering the youth and women, facilitating education, promoting sports, and reviving the region’s rich historical and cultural heritage, he said.
“I must assure you that situation is under control,” the Army Commander told reporters here.
Senior Army and police officials are overseeing the search operation, with officials saying helicopters and drones have been deployed to help the forces who are also using human and technical intelligence to aid the search operation.
The area is completely dominated by the Army and there were reports recently that a terrorist group had infiltrated during early summer and taken shelter in the higher reaches of the Afrawat range, they said.
The Bota Pathri area was recently opened to tourists.
The prestigious High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS), where army personnel are equipped with special training before their deployment in Siachen Glacier, is just a few km from the site of the attack. (PTI)
