Overview

• Analysts report militants shifting to higher ridges, prompting calls to review tactics and restore nomadic intelligence networks.
• Retired Lt. Gen. D. S. Hooda and Lt. Gen. Paramjit Singh Sangha urge reestablishing cooperation and warn against steps that alienate the tribes.
• A series of incidents — the 2018 Kathua rape case, the 2020 Amshipura fake encounter (with a captain dismissed), and the 2023 Topa Pir civilian deaths — is cited as eroding trust.
• Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, numbering about 23 lakh, have long served as vital local informants, from Kargil alerts to Operation Sarp Vinash in 2003.
• Community voices seek uniform LoC policies, resolution of forest-land claims and better communications, while one local commentator argues there is no wedge with the Army and points to anger over reservation.