Eight years after the demonetisation and five after the scrapping of Article 370 provisions for Jammu and Kashmir — both touted as measures that would defang militancy and terrorism — New Delhi is struggling to contain the threat from spilling over to newer areas.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday chaired a meeting to assess the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of a spate of terror attacks and directed security agencies to replicate the successful "area domination plan" and "zero terror plan" previously implemented in Kashmir.

Shah also reviewed the preparations for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, scheduled to begin on June 29 and continue till August 19.

The surge in terrorist attacks is being seen as a setback for the Centre’s claim of normality and its "all-is-well" narrative in Kashmir since the abrogation of its special status under Article 370.

Militants carried out four attacks in Jammu last week, of which the one in Reasi on June 9 was the deadliest. Militants ambushed a bus carrying pilgrims returning from the Shiv Khori shrine, killing nine and injuring dozens.

During the meeting at North Block on Sunday, which lasted six hours, Shah was briefed about the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where forces are expected to intensify counter-terror operations in the coming days.

Barely three days before the review meeting presided over by Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a similar high-level discussion. Modi had instructed officials to deploy the “full spectrum of counter-terror capabilities” in the region.

Sources said Shah directed all security agencies to work in mission mode and ensure quick response in a coordinated manner. He said recent incidents had shown that “terrorism had been forced to shrink from highly organised acts to terrorist violence to a mere proxy war”.

“Home minister directed security agencies to replicate the successes achieved in Kashmir valley through area domination plan and zero terror plan in Jammu division.... Amit Shah emphasised on seamless coordination amongst the security agencies, identifying vulnerable areas and addressing the security concerns of such areas,” a statement from the Union home ministry said.

The meeting was attended by national security adviser Ajit Doval, lieutenant-governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, army chief General Manoj Pande, Army chief-designate Lt General Upendra Dwivedi, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka, directors-general Anish Dayal Singh (CRPF), Nitin Agarwal (BSF) and R.R. Swain (Jammu and Kashmir police), and other top security officials.

Sources said last week's terror attacks had sent security officials into a tizzy considering they took place ahead of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage.

The Amarnath pilgrims travel through two routes — Baltal and Pahalgam — in Jammu and Kashmir. Sources said over 4.28 lakh people visited the shrine last year and the figure could go up to 5 lakh this time.

All pilgrims are expected to be given RFID cards so that their real-time location can be traced. Everyone will also be given a ₹5-lakh insurance cover. There will also be an insurance cover of ₹50,000 for each animal carrying the pilgrims.

The security forces have been engaged in multiple anti-militancy operations in Jammu since Wednesday.

Swain had on Saturday vowed to destroy the “enemy” waging a war in Jammu, signalling a hard-line stance. He had earlier blamed handlers in Pakistan for the attacks and equated the developments and the specific targeting of civilians with war.

Doubts persist

Shah’s pledge of a hardline stance in Jammu has touched a raw nerve among local people and counter-insurgency experts who fear it could backfire. A local politician wondered about the fate of a similar pledge in the aftermath of the January 2023 Dhangri twin attacks.

Shah had visited Jammu soon after the Dhangri attacks, which killed seven Hindu civilians and injured dozens, and announced a time-bound action plan to secure Jammu in “three months”.

“See what happened after that. Has the plan worked? Instead, you found one attack after another in the region,” a local politician from Rajouri said.

Though Shah’s words suggest that a “zero terror” plan had worked in Kashmir, militancy still remains a challenge in the Valley.

During a media interaction in Jammu last year, Shah had said he had directed security agencies to form a “complete 360-degree security grid” for the region.

Rajouri politician Choudhary Liaqat, former chairman of the district council, said local participation in militancy in the region was negligible but any increased harassment during the counter-insurgency operations could enrage local people.

“The talk of a zero-terror plan (or replicating things happening in Kashmir) will obviously not go down well,” he said.

“Already people travelling to Kashmir through the Mughal road face lots of restrictions and are made to wait for hours. People are detained (after attacks). I feel these attacks might be used to defer Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.”

A former counterinsurgency expert who was part of the operations that wiped out militancy in Jammu in the mid-2000s said “high-sounding words” might boomerang.

“I have worked for years in Jammu, particularly Pir Panchal. I can tell you we could defeat militancy back then only because we got the support of local people,” he said.

“Unlike Kashmir, there was not much appetite for militancy. They wholeheartedly supported us. Things remain the same there but if they annoy them, they can go against us.”