Terror attacks, ceasefire violations decline post-surgical strikes

Terror attacks and ceasefire violations have relatively declined in Jammu and Kashmir after army carried out surgical strikes across Line of Control (LoC) in September last year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

During the question hour, which saw a heated debate between opposition and treasury benches, Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said the ceasefire violations by Pakistan have come down post-surgical strikes.

"There were 228 ceasefire violations at the LoC in 2016 and 221 at the IB (International Border). However, till February 2017, there have only been 22 ceasefire violations till now and six on the IB," he said said while replying to supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha.

Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad criticised the minister for not giving a proper reply and said he had never "witnessed butchering" of such an important issue during his 36 years of his Parliamentary career.

However, Home Minister Rajnath Singh came to the rescue of his junior minister and rejected the charges of Azad saying that appropriate answer had been given to the question.

He read out a statement which was similar to a written reply given by Ahir in Lok Sabha today which showed that terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have come down after the surgical strikes were carried out by the Indian Army on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In his reply, Ahir said that during the three months prior to the September 29 surgical strikes, there were 110 terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which 34 security personnel and seven civilians were killed.

But during three months, post-surgical strikes, there were 87 terror incidents in the state in which 19 security personnel and six civilians were killed, he said.

The surgical strikes were carried out by the Army after the terror attack at Uri in North Kashmir on September 18 last year in which 19 soldiers were killed.

The government had said that during the strikes, many terror launch pads were destroyed and several militants killed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

"The government has continuously encouraged to mainstream the youth, including providing employment opportunities to wean them away from militancy," Ahir said.