The recent spate of killing of ordinary Hindu teachers, bankers and labourers in the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir has brought back the horrid memories of past when Islamic terrorism was at its peak in the region. Ever since Modi government abrogated article 370, the Pakistan sponsored terrorists have had their funding routes cut. However, to keep alive their Jihadi dreams, Islamabad has employed the use of Overground Workers (OGW) in Kashmir to act as its auxiliary.
These overground workers help terrorists in movement, ammunition supplies, accommodation and identification of potential targets. To crack down on this particular style of operation, the government has ramped up its policy. Reportedly, the security forces have arrested nearly 250 ‘overground workers’ under the Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in recent months and lodged them in prisons outside the UT.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called a meeting last week with J&K LG Manoj Sinha and top security officials to discuss the menace of overground workers and review the security situation in the UT.
Overground workers aka Hybrid terrorists
As reported by TFI, these ‘overground workers’ are essentially ‘Hybrid’ terrorists who are young striplings, given a pistol or gun by their Pakistani handlers to conduct one-off killing and simply go into hibernation after conducting their business.
Read more: The “child” stone pelters of Kashmir Valley have metamorphosed into Contract killers
These terrorists can be your average friendly neighbours. They could be anyone playing cricket, selling vegetables, Kirana shop owners or a daily wage labourer. They have the local know-how to support them. They know when a person is alert or when he/she is off guard. They pick their target based on the alertness level of an individual.
These locals do not identify themselves as terrorists after they complete their training, rather they live their lives with a minimum fuss around their Jihad goals. Moreover, they do not use modern-day heavy weapons. Instead, they use pistols for their purpose. The weapon of killing either taken away or destroyed immediately after the killing , and the forces have to work twice as harder to apprehend anyone.
OGWs are a part of the terror ecosystem
In October 2021, Zee News reported that Police had recovered 97 pistols from people accused of being a ‘Hybrid terrorist’. It was also reported that 500 people were detained by law enforcement machinery. Investigations also revealed that Kashmiri Pandits are not the only target. Now, these terrorists are being trained by their Pakistani masters to kill minorities, civilians, migrants, government officials and unguarded security personnel as well.
Read More: NIA unveils ‘Faceless Hybrid terrorists’ in the Kashmir valley
OGWs form an important part of the terror ecosystem. Despite a plethora of commendable steps taken by the Government to bring back Kashmiri Hindus home, it has somehow failed to address the Jihadi ideology of the locals, which has been the root cause of recent killings.
Unless the government goes all out against the ideology that drives the Islamic terrorists as well as the Kashmiri Muslim locals; it will be difficult to bring peace in its truest sense in the region. The enemy is on the inside and it will take some effort to eliminate it.
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