Delhi - Sustaining the ceasefire against Muslim militants in northern India's disputed Kashmir state is straining the "tolerance threshold" of Indian security forces who have lost over 60 personnel since it came into effect around five weeks ago, writes Rahul Bedi. The ceasefire has since been extended by another four weeks to January 26th.
"If the present rate of casualties continue, the morale of the security forces, already at a low ebb will take a further beating," an army commander said.
He said militants were successfully carrying out attacks against the army, paramilitary and local police with rockets, grenade launchers and mines without fear of reprisal. Over 2,300 Indian security forces personnel have died in Kashmir's 11-year civil war, which has claimed nearly 30,000 lives.
Army officers in Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar, make no secret of their frustration at a situation where they claim to have become "target practice dummies" for Pakistan-backed militant groups. On Christmas Day a suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives outside the army headquarters in Srinagar, killing 11 people, including five soldiers. Three days earlier two gunmen attacked an army garrison in the capital, New Delhi, and shot dead three people, including one soldier.