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In a conflict-prone border province such as Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), security forces have to tackle not only terrorism but also engage in counter-insurgency operations in a precise and just manner. The Pir Panjal Valley, comprising Poonch and Rajouri districts, has witnessed fierce encounters between security forces and militants in jungle terrain, leading to the death of 28 soldiers this year. The death of three civilians who were detained by the Army in the Poonch-Rajouri area following a deadly ambush on an Army convoy on December 21, and the fact that five other civilians were badly injured due to alleged torture by the security forces, is a severe indictment of the counter-insurgency tactics there. Such heinous actions by security forces targeting civilians in response to militant attacks are clearly problematic, on two counts. First, this increases the unpopularity of a regime that has not been democratically elected in the Union Territory where provincial elections have not been held for more than half a decade. This is a blow against counter-insurgency in an area that has been relatively more peaceful in comparison to the Kashmir Valley. In fact, the Pir Panjal region has been experiencing militancy in the last two years after relative calm for a decade and a half. Counter-insurgency operations of the kind that followed the ambush last week breed discontent among residents in a region which has not been supportive of militancy in the near past.