On June 9, a serious attack occurred in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir when militants fired on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Reasi district. The assault resulted in nine deaths and over 30 injuries, highlighting a concerning shift in militant activity from the Kashmir Valley to Jammu.
Since 2021, Jammu has witnessed 33 militant-related attacks, with 2024 alone seeing eight incidents that claimed 11 lives and injured 18 others. This escalation, coupled with equal civilian casualties in the first half of 2024 as in all of 2023, has alarmed security experts. The attacks span districts like Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Kathua, Udhampur, and Reasi, near the Line of Control with Pakistan.
Experts attribute the rise in Jammu’s violence to factors such as heavy security in Kashmir, potentially pushing militants south, and strategic efforts to divert attention from other critical areas in Jammu and Kashmir. This region had been relatively calm since 2002 after the insurgency from Kashmir spilled over in the late 1990s.
Militants, armed with advanced weapons and adept in jungle warfare, take advantage of the rugged terrain and dense forests in Jammu, making security operations more complex. Retired Colonel Bhuwanesh Thapa pointed out challenges in accessing remote regions due to inadequate infrastructure, while former police chief Shesh Paul Vaid implied that the attacks could be part of a larger plan orchestrated by China and Pakistan.
