New Delhi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while mentioning that there has been a significant decline in the incidents of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, said that the government has not only targeted the terrorists but has also destroyed the terrorist infrastructure. Shah also gave a strict message to the terrorists and said that the family members of any terrorist or stone pelter in Jammu and Kashmir will not get government jobs.
He said, “We have taken strong action against terrorism financing through NIA (National Investigation Agency) and ended it. We have taken a very strict stand on terrorism financing.” In an interview given to ‘PTI-Bhasha’ last weekend, he said, “We have decided in Kashmir that if someone joins any terrorist organization, then no member of his family will get any government job.” Shah also said that if someone is involved in stone pelting, then no member of his family will get any government job.
He said that human rights activists had gone to the Supreme Court against the decision, but ultimately the government won. However, the Home Minister said that the government will take exception to such cases when a person from a family comes forward and informs the authorities that a close relative of his has joined a terrorist organization. He said that such families will be given relief.
Shah said that earlier in Kashmir, a funeral procession was taken out after the death of a terrorist. He said, “We stopped this practice. We ensured that the terrorist is buried with all religious rituals but at a deserted place.” The Home Minister said that when a terrorist is surrounded by security forces, he is first given an opportunity to surrender.
He said, “We call his mother or wife or any relative and ask them to appeal to the terrorist to surrender. If he (terrorist) does not listen, he is killed.” Referring to the banned organization Popular Front of India (PFI), Shah said that the government has banned the publication and broadcasting of terrorist ideology by the organization.
The Kerala-based Muslim extremist group PFI was banned by the central government in 2022 under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The ban was imposed over alleged links with terrorist activities.
Regarding the case of alleged Khalistani supporter Amritpal Singh, Shah said, “We have put him in jail under NSA (National Security Act).” Amritpal Singh, the head of the extremist Sikh separatist group ‘Waris Punjab De’, was arrested in Punjab under the NSA in April 2023 and is currently in Dibrugarh jail in Assam. Singh recently filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat from jail.
According to the data of the Union Home Ministry, 228 incidents of terrorism were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 and this number decreased to around 50 in 2023. According to the data, 189 incidents of encounter took place between security forces and terrorists in 2018 and their number decreased to around 40 in 2023. In the year 2018, about 55 civilians were killed in various incidents related to terrorism. This number decreased to five in 2023. According to the data, a total of 91 security personnel were killed in terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 and this number decreased to around 15 in 2023.