Srinagar: The government of India has zero tolerance towards terrorism and it will be wiped out from Jammu and Kashmir very soon, the Minister of State for Home Affairs said on Wednesday.
Replying to a question of Congress MP Promod Tiwari, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, as per KNO said that the only places for terrorists is either hell or jail and very soon terrorism will be wiped out from J&K.
The minister also underscored the government’s commitment to restoring peace in the region. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has zero tolerance towards terrorism. Violence will be completely eradicated in the Union Territory,” he said.
He said 900 terrorists have been killed in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 and 28 have been killed in recent days, while the number of soldiers killed in this period is very less that is condemnable.
Rai acknowledged the recent increase in the attacks on security forces, leading to the loss of soldiers. However, he emphasized the government’s robust anti-terrorism measures, noting that 28 terrorists have been neutralized in recent operations.
“The number of killed soldiers is significantly lower compared to the terrorists killed,” Rai stated.
Minister added that stone-pelting incidents have ceased entirely since the abrogation of Article 370. Despite these improvements, the region continues to face challenges. As of July 15, 2024, 10 security personnel and 14 civilians have lost their lives due to terrorist activities this year.
The minister said that from 2004-2014, J&K witnessed 7217 terror related incidents and 2259 from 2014-2024. “2829 security forces and civilians were killed in J&K from 2004-2014, while 941 security forces and civilians were killed from 2014-2024.”
He said that the number has come down by 67 per cent since 2014 and there is also a reduction of 69 per cent in terror incidents and 80 per cent reduction in killing of civilians and security forces.
He said that the overall law and order scenario in the UT of J&K has seen remarkable improvement after the abrogation of article 370.
In 2018, 1,328 stone pelting incidents have occurred while no such incidents have been reported in 2023 and 2024 so far besides that there were 52 incidents of organized hartal while no such incidents have been reported in the last two years.
He said that 238 terrorists initiated incidents in 2018 while it reduced to 46 in 2023 and 11 such incidents this year so far. There were 189 encounters/CT operations in 2018 that went down to 48 in 2023 and 21 this year till 15 July.
He said that 91 security forces were killed in 2018, 30 in 2023 and 10 this year so far while 55 civilians were killed in 2018, 14 in 2023 and 14 this year so far
“Post abrogation of Article 370, the UT of J&K has witnessed an era of peace, progress and prosperity. Schools, Colleges, Universities, hospitals and other public institutions are functioning efficiently without any strikes or any kind of disturbances during the last four years. The earlier practice of daily hartals, strikes, stone pelting and bandhs are things of the past now. With record voting, the people of Jammu and Kashmir participated enthusiastically in the recently held Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
The minister said that J&K has seen a new dawn of development as jobs are being created, schools are opened and all facilities are being enhanced.
He said people are now living peacefully and everyone visiting there is safe that is why crores of tourists have visited J&K last year. (KNO)
