Forty J&K police personnel have been killed in 2018, double the number of cops killed in 2017. The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K ) police have carried out their duties in severe stress, but with the increase in deadly attacks, their morale is so down that have stopped meeting their families. Defence Experts that EurAsian Times interviewed state that this will only increase the bloodshed in the Valley and provoke a civil-war like situation.
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Some of the police officers spoke with Indian Media to share their side of the horrendous story and how they are “an easy target practice for terrorists”.
In an earlier interview to EurAsian Times, defence experts on Kashmir stated that the Jammu and Kashmir Government remains the biggest employer in the Kashmir Valley including the Police department. Killing the local cops might initially give the militants a boost, but eventually, it will further divide the society, plunging the valley in complete turmoil.
Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir, Sub-Inspector posted at J&K was shot dead by militants at Pulwama. He was the 40th policeman to be murdered this year. The count of policemen murdered by militants has gradually gone up. Since 2014, 16 of them were slaughtered across the state. The numbers kept on increasing to 10 and up to 17 in 2016. It increased further to 20 in 2017. It has now doubled much before the end of 2018.
An officer who was posted in Srinagar had gone home to Pulwama for celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr shared his account. “Four armed militants came to my house and threatened my family. They had asked my family to tell me to meet them. Fortunately, I was visiting a friend at a nearby village. I directly returned to Srinagar by bus and have not gone back home since then. I am constantly concerned about my family.”
Policemen who are the residents of South Kashmir districts have been the worst affected Their families and relatives are the subjects to threats from militants more than anybody else in the force have been.
Policemen, in particular, are vulnerable because their details are known to the locals, including militant groups. Many police officers are seeking for transfer from their hometown to avoid attacks on their family or on them.
Munir Khan, additional director-general (law and order and security) of J&K Police told that “Losing a policeman of any rank is like losing a family member. These attacks have been a hindrance for the department which has resulted in shaking up their morale. But we will overcome.”
