Fighting terror: Significance of handing Muneer Khan ADGP law and order in J&K

Muneer Khan, ADGP Home Guards and Security, Jammu and Kashmir was given additional charge of ADGP law and order.

An order of the J&K government said that in respect of law and order matters, the two Zonal IGPs of Jammu and Kashmir shall report to Khan under the overall command and control of the DGP, J&K.

The order comes at a crucial time, when the Indian Army has resumed 'Operation All Out.' The security forces have been told to wipe out terrorism and restore law and order in the state. The state is currently under the rule of the Governor.

Muneer Khan had played a crucial role in fighting terrorism. His experience in counter-insurgency operations is crucial at this time. He was appointed as the top cop in 2017 as the Valley simmered with anger. He coordinated operations against the terrorists and most importantly avoided any civilian casualty.

It may be recalled that a high-level meeting chaired by the Governor, N N Vohra, he had directed the security forces to take stern action, but avoid civilian casualties at all cost. Muneer Khan back in 2017, while playing an important role in the counter-insurgency operations had also ensured that there were minimal civilian casualties.

The top cop always maintained that the first task is always to kill the commanders. In doing so, there would be none to motivate the new cadre. With the expertise he had provided and also the strong intelligence network he has, the forces were able to kill at least 18 top commanders which also included the heads of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Since the imposition of Governor's rule in the state, there has been a lot of re-shuffling that has taken place. K Vijay Kumar, the cop who led the operation that killed Veerappan was brought to the Valley as an advisor to the Governor. With the Governor in charge, the forces hope to restore normalcy to a large extent in the Valley. Many from within the security set up had complained that due to political compulsions, they were not able to go all out against the terrorists.

In another development, both the Enforcement Directorate and National Investigation Agency would re-launch investigations against Separatists who are brining in the money to spread terror in the Valley. As part of the probe, the NIA had carried out several arrests in recent times and even filed a chargesheet. The second round of the probe would commence now.