Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Chinor situation was the latest in a series of hostage crisis in Jammu and Kashmir. So what were the options that the Army was considering?
The Army was faced with tough choices in dealing with the hostage crisis in Jammu.
A senior Army officer outlined a three-fold scenario:
Option One: The Army identifies all points of entry into the house - in which civillians are being held hostage - in pitch darkness. A small team breaks in using small arms and throws stun and smoke grenades hoping to rescue the hostages unharmed.
Option Two: A maulvi is brought in to persuade the militants to surrender. If they are Kashmiris, this option could work. If they belong to the Lashkar-e-Toiba or the Jaish-e-Mohammad, this option will fail.
Option Three: There is a possibility the militants might attempt an escape, using the hostages as shields. The Army has developed tactics to separate the hostages from their captors and use sharpshooters to settle the issue. However, this third option may well allow the militants to escape, if that would save the hostages.
Major General Afsir Karim says, "This is the best opportunity (for the militants). They can mix with the crowds and disappear."
But the bigger worry is that more militants may be waiting to strike in Jammu, taking advantage of the communal tensions stoked by the Amarnath land controversy.
While in Kashmir, the insurgent strategy seems to be focussed on provoking security forces to fire on unarmed mobs, Jammu, on the other hand, could witness more direct attacks on innocents with an intent to deepen the communal divide.
What's clear out of all this is that Jammu is now firmly on the terror hitlist.
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