Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wants Centre to take concrete steps against terrorism

New Delhi, August 14

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday expressed concern over security forces’ encounter with terrorists in Doda and asserted that the entire country was united against terrorism and the Centre should take concrete steps against it.

“The news of the martyrdom of an Army officer in an encounter with terrorists in Doda is extremely saddening. May god give peace to the departed soul and give strength to the family of the martyr to bear this sorrow,” said Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

In the last four months, a total of 83 terrorist incidents had been reported from Jammu and Kashmir in which 20 soldiers were martyred and 14 civilians were also killed, she said.

“Such an incident before our Independence Day is a matter of great concern. The whole country is united against terrorism. The Central Government should take strong and concrete steps,” she said.

An Army captain and a terrorist were killed in an ongoing operation in the higher reaches of Jammu region’s Doda district on Wednesday, officials said.

A civilian was also injured in the encounter that broke out on the eve of Independence Day and is the latest in a series of incidents in the Jammu region that has witnessed a spike in violence of late.

This is the fourth encounter in recent days in the Udhampuri-Doda-Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Bullets rang out on Wednesday morning in a thickly-forested area during a cordon-and-search operation (CASO) launched by a joint team of security personnel to track down a group of foreign terrorists hiding in the Shivgarh-Assar belt, the officials said. — PTI