Operation Chhatru: Soldier injured in gunfight encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar

Srinagar: A soldier was injured on Wednesday in a gunfight between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, where a joint team of the Army and police launched a cordon and search operation following intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists.

Officials said the encounter broke out in the forested Chhatru area of Kishtwar early in the morning after troops of the Army’s White Knight Corps and personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police came under heavy fire while closing in on a suspected hideout.

The injured soldier, a paratrooper from the Army’s elite unit, was immediately airlifted to the Command Hospital in Udhampur, where he is undergoing treatment.

“The operation began in the early hours and contact with the terrorists was established soon after security forces launched the search,” an official said, adding that the exchange of fire was intense and intermittent firing was still continuing in the area.

In a post on X, the White Knight Corps confirmed the ongoing engagement. “In an intelligence-based operation, conducted jointly with @JmuKmrPolice, alert troops of #WhiteKnightCorps established contact with terrorists in the general area of Chhatru in the early hours today. Fire has been exchanged with the terrorists. The operation is in progress,” the Army said.

Rising terror activities in Jammu region

Wednesday’s encounter is the latest in a series of gunfights and militant sightings in hilly districts of Jammu region, which includes Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur districts. Once relatively calm, the region has witnessed a sharp uptick in terrorist activities in recent years, with security agencies warning of attempts by Pakistan-based outfits to revive militancy in Jammu.

In recent years, dozens of encounters and attacks have been reported in Jammu’s hilly districts, including several targeting security personnel. Security officials believe infiltrating terrorist groups are part of an attempt to reopen an old militant corridor through Kishtwar that connects the Valley with Jammu’s mountainous districts.

“The terrain, dense forests, and limited connectivity make this region strategically important for groups trying to spread operations beyond the Valley,” said a senior police officer familiar with the recent operations.

Security officials say battle hardened foreign fighters have infiltrated through the Naushera–Rajouri and Poonch routes, taking advantage of difficult terrain and forest cover in recent months. These infiltrators, officials believe, are being sheltered by local sympathisers or small sleeper cells.

The recent spate of encounters has also included recoveries of weapons, night-vision equipment, and satellite phones — suggesting a high level of preparedness and coordination. “The nature of weapons recovered indicates Pakistan is trying to push well-trained groups to revive terrorism in these areas,” an Army officer said.

The resurgence of militancy in hilly districts of Jammu has reignited fear among civilians who had experienced years of relative calm. Authorities have reactivated Village Defence Guards (VDGs) — civilian volunteers armed by the government — to assist police in maintaining security in remote villages.