Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh issued a severe warning to local terrorists operating from Pakistan on Friday, saying they will not be allowed to live in peace even across the border. He stated that security authorities have already begun attaching the properties of terrorists located in Pakistan, and that the process would continue. "We want to give a clear message to the traitors (local terrorists) who have gone across the border and (are) trying to revive terrorism here (in Jammu and Kashmir) that they cannot live in peace there because we will reach them and those who are supporting them from here will be dealt with sternly," the police chief told reporters, PTI reported.
The Chenab Valley, which includes the districts of Kishtwar, Doda, and Ramban, has been a target for terrorists in the past, but security forces are alert and would not allow them to establish a foothold, he added.
"The Doda-Kishtwar range is being guarded heavily by security forces with the cooperation of locals. The bad elements trying to revive terrorism will be given a befitting reply," Singh was quoted by PTI in its report.
When asked about the recent raid on a shelter used by Jehangir Saroori, the longest-surviving Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, in Kishtwar's upper reaches, the police chief stated action is being taken to eliminate him and a handful of his friends.
"He (Saroori) has reached that stage of his life where he is close to his grave. We want to take him there but if, somehow, he survives, he is himself nearing his end. Time is not far when he will be in his grave," Singh said.
He went on to say that while most of the persons associated with Saroori have been neutralised, a number of his colleagues are still accompanying him and will be neutralised shortly. Security personnel are keeping a careful eye on the regions where Saroori and his colleagues are suspected of hiding, and action is being taken against them.
On Tuesday, the police demolished Saroori's cave refuge in coordination with troops from the Rashtriya Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force in a methodically organised operation in the Paribag region of Bhadat Saroor.
Saroori joined the militancy in the early 1990s and is reported to be hiding in the Kishtwar district's upper reaches. On August 3, his brother Abdul Karim Butt was arrested under the strict Public Safety Act on suspicion of being a terrorist associate.
Singh further stated that tough action is being taken against terrorists in the border areas of Rajouri and Poonch.
"They (Pakistan-based terrorists) tried to sow the seeds of militancy in Rajouri and Poonch. Strong action to destroy this seed is going on," the police chief said and added that many infiltration bids were foiled this year.
He said that the terrorists planned to sneak from Rajouri into adjacent Reasi and then into Kashmir, or to enter Kashmir straight from Rajouri, but all attempts were foiled.
Singh further stated that the sacrifices of the slain police officers had resulted in increased peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking at the Shaheed Aman Memorial T20 Cricket Tournament conclusion ceremony in Kishtwar, Singh said the Jammu and Kashmir Police is proud of its martyrs who gave their life while safeguarding the people and the nation.