Home secretary’s visit

Visiting Kashmir  a day before the new year’s eve, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, during his maiden visit to the union territory, chaired a high-level security review meeting to discuss strategies to combat renewed terrorism. He directed security agencies to intensify both kinetic and non-kinetic operations, strengthen the security grid, countering radicalization, and address local grievances. He also stressed the importance of reaching out to people to win their trust while enhancing area domination, surveillance, and vigilance along the LoC and International Border to counter infiltration and the new threats like drone usage.

The home secretary stressed the need for deploying advanced technologies and actionable intelligence in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism. So far as the non-security issues, the meeting discussed preparations for Republic Day, infrastructure projects, and mitigating post-snowfall challenges.

As we enter the new year, the air in Jammu and Kashmir is filled with hope and a sense of foreboding. In recent years, Kashmir has transformed in most of its aspects. It is now easier to predict the continuation of the existing normalcy but the place can still surprise with its unpredictability. Last year, dramatic attacks claimed the lives of several security personnel and broke the prevailing calm. However, the occasional spikes in violence didn’t  detract from the larger drift of normalcy. It is this normalcy that made the peaceful Assembly elections possible in the UT after the break of a decade.

Looking back at the last five years, the two trends have largely undergirded the current calm: one is the steady decline in militancy and another is the growth in tourism.  Going by the government data, millions of tourists have visited the union territory, something that has given a leg up to the local economy otherwise crippled by the extended post Article 370 blockade followed by the COVID-19 shutdown.

In 2025, there is hope that the current hybrid governance will further build on these security and economic gains. As the home secretary’s visit makes it clear, the government is working on a comprehensive security and development roadmap for the UT which hopefully will further improve the situation, and usher in lasting peace and prosperity.