The situation in Jammu & Kashmir is deteriorating fast, thereby exposing the pathetic policy of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. After scrapping Article 370 and dividing the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir into the union territories of Ladakh and J&K, the BJP had claimed that it would forever solve the Kashmir problem. It was claimed that terrorism would end and Kashmiri Pandits would return to the state. A spate of targeted civilian killings in Kashmir has led to the exodus of several Kashmiri Pandits living in transit camps. Dozens of families – many government employees who returned to the valley after being given jobs under the Prime Minister’s special employment scheme for Kashmiri migrants – have quietly left their accommodations.
Further symbolizing the deteriorating situation, an army officer and four soldiers were killed in action during an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir’s Poonch district on Monday. The situation in the valley has worsened in the last few years. Whatever gains were made during the Congress era have been lost in the last seven years. There is an urgent need for a rethink. The Modi government is making colossal mistakes and their wrong policy is hurting India’s interests in the valley. If urgent course correction is not made, the situation in J&K will further worsen. Such a situation will be an advantage for hostile neighbours like Pakistan and China.