New Delhi: There are fears terror attacks such as the recent ambush on an Army truck that killed five soldiers may get “repeated” in various other forms as Pakistan-based terror outfits have hatched several such plans to “jeopardise” India’s G20 presidency, sources told ABP Live.
Top-level intelligence sources said there was “situational awareness” of the fact that Jaish-e-Mohammed-affiliate People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) has been operating in that region and was planning “something big” but there was “no specific intelligence” of an attack like the one that happened last Thursday in Poonch. This is the reason why initially it was reported that the Army truck had caught fire.
The sources added that while on one hand Pakistan has been “somewhat” maintaining ceasefire along the border as per the understanding reached in February 2021, it has been planning operations of this kind on the other.
According to intelligence reports, the plan was to attack an Army convoy and preparations were in place to face such an incident. On Thursday, the five men were out to get food items for the iftar even as Eid celebrations in that village of Sangiote was in full swing at that time, which eventually got cancelled.
“There has been an escalation of violence in the Jammu region and this is owing to India’s G20 presidency. The JeM had always been active in this region but now they have metamorphosed into PAFF in order to obtain global appeal,” said one of the sources quoted above.
The source also said a major crackdown has been now planned that will be implemented with immediate effect even as door-to-door search operations will be carried out in Jammu’s border areas.
According to another source, the PAFF is nothing different from JeM, their way of carrying out such operations, their cadres and handlers are the same that are beginning to once again get active in this region.
Moreover, it seems preliminary investigations have not ruled out the fact that the terrorists may have used sophisticated weapons like rocket propelled grenades (RPG) and Kalashnikovs.
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Drawdown Of Forces To Be Put On Hold
The government, jointly with the Indian Army, is now planning to put an “indefinite hold” on the process of the drawdown of forces that was being carried out slowly and gradually, in the wake of heightening of tensions with China.
“We have to watch more before the scaling down of troops can take place… No doubt we need more troops on the Chinese side but post this incident it is inevitable that a drawdown is not suggested,” said the source.
The source added that while violence has come down in the Valley to a large extent since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, violent incidents like this cannot be ruled out.
Moreover, with the government now planning to hold events related to the G20 in J&K, it is feared the terrorist outfits will leave no stone unturned to disrupt such moves.
The government had been contemplating a major reduction in troops after the scrapping of special status of Jammu and Kashmir and keep a significant presence only at the Line of Control (LoC).
According to sources, the government is now chalking out a counter-strategy that has been in the offing for the last couple of years, and planning to implement the strategy in the Valley with immediate effect.
Kuldip Singh, a retired Brigadier from the Indian Army, told ABP Live: “We can keep blaming Pakistan & the ISI, and casting them as the main culprits, but the fact remains that as long as there is resentment and disgruntled people, the ISI will continue to find it convenient to exploit and leverage such people. This also brings in the need to look within, and address, some of the causes stoking such violent events.”
Singh also said: “While there is no standard, internationally accepted definition of terrorism, it is generally deemed to ‘violence against the civilian population’. As it is, terrorism is a tactic of the weak and terrorists therefore tend to focus on ‘soft’, civilian targets.”
He added: “Hence, as per the international community, what happened in Poonch — i.e., an attack on security forces — is not deemed to fall under the label of terrorism, but is classed as ‘irregular warfare’. This label cognises that the armed forces of a nation cannot be terrorised.”
‘Time Now For A Political Process’
The incident has inevitably given rise to a political slugfest in the region while people of J&K continue to suffer even as India continues to lose its brave and young soldiers.
While the investigation process has begun in full force, National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah on Saturday urged that “innocent people” should not be arrested during the process.
“Many innocents are arrested and then tortured. This is the wrong method … I don’t want the innocent people to suffer,” said Abdullah during the Eid celebrations in Srinagar.
The BJP has slammed his comments and accused him of questioning the effectiveness of investigating agencies.
According to Singh, who is also ex-Principal Director, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), “We cannot finish terrorism by focusing solely on killing terrorists — the dead ones are quickly replaced by others motivated by same radical ideology(s), while groups that are proscribed tend to come back under new names and identities.”
He added: “The aim should be to bring down terrorism to threshold levels and then start a political process. The latter should particularly address the common populace, as much of it is often caught between the terrorists and the security forces.”
Singh highlighted that there’s “lingering resentment in the UT of J&K on account of the protracted political stalemate and associated gerrymandering. And till the time a political solution that’s acceptable within the bounds of the Indian Constitution is found and implemented, such incidents are unlikely to end.”
He said: “What is needed in Kashmir now is a comprehensive political process, particularly the holding of free & fair elections as were promised to the populace there after the abrogation of Article 370. In absence of that, we cannot rule out such reprehensible attacks no matter how intensive and valiant the efforts of our security forces and intelligence agencies.”