Jammu and Kashmir Police deserves accolades for seizing one of the biggest consignments of narcotics which was a part of narco-terrorism , the proceeds of which were slated to be pumped into the waning militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
The said consignment smuggled in from Pakistan was 52 kgs in weight and valuing in the ”market” at over Rs.100 crore and was being carried from Kashmir to Punjab for sale .
That, there were such seizures made in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir indicates how the other gory and ugly face of the proxy war of terrorism was shaped by Pakistan to fan and fuel terrorism in the region. The gravity of the situation in respect of giving a fillip to such a nasty trade by Pakistan to provide monetary oxygen to its agents and mercenaries active in Jammu and Kashmir for conducting terror attacks and indulge in fostering troubles, can be gauged by the fact that just during the past two years alone , Jammu Police have seized 185 Kgs of heroin valued at a whooping amount of Rs.360 crore and arrested a number of 1500 persons.
Two edged financial support to the net work of terrorism sponsored by Pakistan has been by way of Hawala money in larger dimensions and the proceeds of drugs and narcotics smuggled in by its active agents and pushed in actively through other modes including drone flying machines.
While due to the stringent actions by the government taken against operation of Hawala money for the last two years and almost blocking this channel, Pakistan has stepped up sending narcotics in huge consignments meant to be sold and thus financial channel of whatever magnitude ensured for its terror agenda in Jammu and Kashmir.
Recently, it may be recalled, an amount of Rs.43 lakh seized by Police at Ban Toll Plaza Nagrota on Jammu -Srinagar National Highway also was meant to be pumped into the dried channels of finances of different terror outfits in Kashmir . For this seizure too , the successful efforts of the UT Police are commendable .
There may be aspersions and doubts cast on the functioning of the Police force in dealing with the scourge of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir especially by certain politicians but looking to the most challenging job of dealing with an organised , adequately armed and indoctrinated terror cadre which has no regard or any concern for humanity or human values , we must be doubly sure and cautious before raising any finger of suspicion in respect of its working . It is doing commendable job and in that pursuit, even offering supreme sacrifice by its personnel from time to time , however, not losing sight of avoiding collateral damages from taking place or any innocent harmed being quite paramount.
The cause of concern and new challenges for the Police and the security forces is that this narco- terrorism and its different contours which has been stepped up by Pakistan, have a consistency in that such a type of smuggling reportedly has been carried out throughout the year . For that, various routes in Kashmir and also in Jammu have been used. We cannot rule out the possibility of many such attempts having rather escaped the eagle eyed surveillance of the Police which having ,therefore, succeeded in its nefarious designs and denoting the size , volume and the extent of the operation of the net work by Pakistan.
That country is employing newer and novel ways to trouble India , now by two ways , one – direct through revival of militancy with new strategies and two -pumping in large quantities of drugs and narcotics for sale in adjoining states particularly in Punjab making more and more victims fall in the trap of use and subsequent addiction . That is really a serious challenge as our human resources potential and strength is getting affected .
What is needed is that our Police force increased its vigil day and night and took help of and employed such technical ways in finding out similar deceptive and camouflaging ways of hiding the deadly but highly priced narcotic substances in apple boxes and other consignments so that a fight on this new challenging front could also be decisively fought . In the mean time, the arrested lone occupant helper of the truck driver in which this huge consignment was being transported, could give the police vital clues to reach up to the operators of this racket so that they were dealt with suitably but sternly as per the law of the land.