With questions being raised over the rationale behind continuing with the security cover provided to Kashmiri separatists, especially after Thursday night's brutal lynching of Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP) Mohammad Ayub Pandith inside Srinagar's Jamia Masjid, J&K Director General of Police (DGP) Shesh Paul Vaid on Saturday said it should be done away with.

"Why should we protect these people who have no sympathy for us? While I have been repeatedly mooting this idea (that their security cover be withdrawn), it has to be a collective decision by the government," Vaid told DNA.

Asked if there was a reason for the spurt in terrorists' attacks, especially on police personnel and security forces, Vaid, who took over as DGP late last year, said this could be attributed to aggressive action by the police and security forces against terrorists and their sympathisers. "Now, we have started going after them aggressively. We have begun taking action against them. Earlier, it was a compromise – you don't do anything and we will also keep quiet. We have changed that," Vaid said.

Asked if the aggressive stance against terrorists and their sympathisers will continue despite the recent killings of policemen, the DGP replied in the affirmative. "There won't be any let-up... We will now go after senior militant commanders, target them," he asserted.

To another question, he said the increase in terror activities was the handiwork of a mix of local and foreign terrorists. "There has been a lot of recruitment (by terrorists) in South Kashmir. We are aware," he said.

He also said all the persons who were responsible for the killing of the "unarmed" Dy SP had "been identified" and would be apprehended soon. "Nobody will be allowed to get away unpunished," Vaid said.

Asked if the police top brass has any plan to ensure security of its men and their families, Vaid, who had sometime back said in case terrorists attacked families of police personnel, there could a tit-for-tat response from the police, said, "We will protect. We will continue to be proactive as the situation demands."