Union home minister Amit Shah, in his high-level review of security in Jammu and Kashmir, has rightly instructed the entire security mechanism and ecosystem of officials to have zero tolerance for every single person involved with or supporting terrorism, and to harness technology to eliminate such threats and dismantle the terror structure in the larger interest of the people.
It is equally apt that in every fight against terrorism in Kashmir, or elsewhere, we must, as Mr Shah did, show how terror hurts the poor the worst, and how eliminating terror is a crucial foundation to ensuring development reaches every single person.
There has been an overall improvement in the security situation in the Union territory, with key statistics, including the number of attacks and deaths caused by attacks of both security personnel and civilians, having come down.
But a deliberate targeting of religious minorities who come from outside, with diabolical tactics, such as the public sharing of names of all employees posted from other regions to Kashmir on websites promoted by terror bodies, and giving a call to kill them, has led to an atmosphere of unrest and fear, deterring especially those who would otherwise wish to join in the journey of development in the Valley.
It was, therefore, astute on the part of the Union home minister to focus on the twin goals of containing and eliminating terror, and development.
The review was also significant, coming as it did a day after four terrorists from Pakistan who had succeeded in sneaking into Jammu were killed. This is proof that the threat of cross-border terror has not abated and the security establishment must not lower its guard even fractionally.
India must continue to focus on the aforementioned goals till terrorism is totally eliminated and fruits of development reach everyone.
