Targeting of civilians marks alarming shift in terror tactics: DGMO
His statement assumes significance as the Centre has been asserting that the abrogation of Article 370 has crushed terrorism and brought unprecedented normalcy in the region
DGMO (Army) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai on Monday (May 12) stated that the nature of terrorist activities has changed in recent years, with a disturbing shift towards targeting civilians.
Also read: Indian army denies targeting Pakistan's nuclear facility at Kirana Hills
Addressing a special media briefing in New Delhi on Operation Sindoor, he remarked, “Pahalgam tak paap ka ye ghada bhar chuka tha (When it reached Pahalgam, the cup of sins had already overflowed)”, citing the recent Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians, mostly tourists, lost their lives.
Not the first time
Lt Gen Ghai said the terrorists have increasingly begun targeting innocent civilians, citing recent attacks such as the attack on pilgrims returning from the Shiv Khori temple in Jammu last year. He said the Pahalgam attack was the recent example of an alarming shift in terrorist tactics.
His statement assumes great significance as the Centre has been asserting that the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 has crushed terrorism and brought unprecedented normalcy in the region.
The terrorists had in June last year targeted a bus carrying pilgrims back from Shiv Khori shrine, killing seven of them and leaving 38 injured. The victims, hailing from different states, were on their way back from Shiv Khori to Katra when the terror attack took place near Ransoo.
TRF’s new strategy
Subsequently, in October 2024, The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district that witnessed the killing of a doctor and six migrant labourers. The group’s local module carried out the attack targeting Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris together for the first time.
Also read: Op Sindoor: Who are top Pak Army officers, cops who attended funeral of terrorists?
Significantly, it was the TRF only that had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack. TRF has been targeting Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs and non-locals in the valley, marking a big change in the strategy of the outfit, which earlier killed several Kashmiri Pandits.
The attack in Ganderbal came after terrorists killed a migrant worker from Bihar in Shopian district on October 18, 2024. A similar attack took place in April 2024, when a migrant labourer, also from Bihar, was shot dead by terrorists in a targeted attack in Anantnag district.