Jammu: A year after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have upped the ante against terrorists. Since the attack, around 46 terrorists have been killed across the union territory, including those responsible for the Pahalgam incident.
The forces have also made major progress in tracking down and eliminating terrorist groups amid the difficult terrain and harsh weather of Jammu and Kashmir. The biggest success for the forces has been killing terrorists in the Kishtwar, Udhampur and Kathua districts of the Jammu region, where forces not only had to fight the heavily armed terrorists but also overcome the dense forest, adverse weather and natural hideouts where terrorists had the advantage.
The Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police were able to track down terrorists in the upper reaches of Kathua and Udhampur districts a few times and killed the hiding terrorists, while the biggest achievement for the forces came in Kishtwar district, where a group of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists, led by its commander Saifullah, were giving slip to the forces every time the forces were able to track them down.
On February 22, the forces got the major success in the Chatroo forests of the Kishtwar district when Saifullah and his two associates were killed by the army and police in a joint operation. Earlier, on February 4, another terrorist was killed by the forces which ultimately took the forces close to Saifullah.
As per the White Knight Corps of the army, a total of seven terrorists, responsible for the killing of soldiers and a few civilians, were neutralised in 2025 and 2026 in Kishtwar district.
On February 4, two hardcore terrorists were killed by forces in the Jophar forests of the Basantgarh area of Udhampur district when forces blasted a cave in which the terrorists were hiding. An M4 carbine and an AK-47, along with a huge quantity of ammunition, were recovered from their possession.
Earlier, on January 23, another JeM commander, Usman, alias Abu Maviya, was killed by the army and police in the Billawar area of Kathua district. Usman was active in the region for the last two years after infiltrating from across the border.
The relentless efforts of police, the army, and paramilitary forces with the support of intelligence agencies led to tracking down terrorists and eliminating them.
Intelligence sources told ETV Bharat that they continue to get reports of the presence and movement of terrorists hiding in the tri-junction Kathua, Udhampur and Doda forests, but the terrorists are keeping a low profile so that they don’t get tracked down by the forces.
An intelligence official told that after the Pahalgam attack and ‘Operation Sindoor’, terrorists have gone on the back foot. “The forces continue to remain present deep inside forests where terrorists used to create their hideouts. During winters also, forces didn’t leave the upper reaches despite harsh weather conditions, including snowfall and rain, which deterred the terrorists from remaining at large. This strategy worked in Kishtwar, Udhampur and Kathua, and results were in front of everybody,” the officer said.
There is some concern regarding infiltration attempts by terrorists from across the border, and time and again forces get the information of movement of suspects in the border areas of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, after which search operations are conducted by the forces. On regular intervals, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on the international border keep a close vigil on any movement, and in the hinterland, both police and the army go for coordinated operations whenever they get information on suspects.
During this period from April 22, 2025, till April 19, 51 civilians and 14 security forces personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir. In the Pahalgam attack, 26 civilians were killed, which included 25 tourists, and in the month of May, around 25 civilians were killed in Pakistani shelling during the operation Sindoor, mostly in the border belts of Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla and Kupwara districts.
On April 1 this year, the army claimed to have killed a terrorist in the Ganderbal district, but Jammu and Kashmir police haven’t updated the list of terrorists or civilians, as an investigation is already going on to ascertain his identity and cause of death.
