THE EXECUTION of nine persons, belonging to two families, in the Budhal tehsil of Rajauri is a signal - if one were needed – that terrorists know neither law nor humanity. Neither are they affected by the feeling of goodwill unleashed by the shared suffering of Indians and Pakistanis in the wake of the killer earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir. The action most certainly begs a question of the United Jehad Council headed by Syed Salahuddin, the Hizbul Mujahideen's Pakistan-based chief, which declared a truce on Sunday.

Despite the reported damage to terrorist camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, there are indications that the jehadi groups have sought to take advantage of the disruption caused by the earthquake to try and push in terrorists into the Valley. Whatever be the commitment needed to aid those stricken by the calamity, the army should not let up its anti-infiltration activities and as soon as humanly possible, it should reconstitute the fencing that has proved so effective in reducing the infiltration. But the problems in the Budhal tehsil that sits astride the route from POK to the Kashmir Valley are of a different category. It has been one of the places worst affected by terrorism in the state. Despite the depredations of the terrorists, the authorities have not been able to effectively hunt down and destroy the groups operating there for the better part of the past decade. Villages in the mountainous terrain are particularly vulnerable to the terrorists who have been carrying out a systematic campaign of butchery aimed at the minority Hindu community, but by no means sparing the Muslim Gujjars and Bakarwals who, they suspect, are working for the security forces.

Given the circumstances, it is up to the authorities to work out an adequate security plan to take care of the villagers who have been living under extreme poverty and the constant threat of terrorists in the area.