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| Expose Pakistan terror while strengthening internal security | | | Dr. Simrit Kahlon | 8/8/2015 10:54:30 PM |
| The national outrage towards the terror attack on a BSF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway in District
Udhampur been expressed in ample measure in the electronic media. The fact that a terrorist was caught alive and he went on to confess being a resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan was played inexhaustibly by all television news channels. There were debates full of recriminations by the Indian commentators and stringent denials by the Pakistani commentators.
The arrested terrorist added to the confusion by making contradictory statements. He coined several names for himself and stated his age from 16 to 20.
The question is - what was new in the debates? A similar exercise with similar questions to the same set of commentators from India and Pakistan were posed after the Gurdaspur terror attack. The answers, in this instance, were the same as before. Indian "analysts" continued to deride Pakistan with emotive rhetoric while the Pakistani response continued to be one of denial.
The reality is that export of terror to India is the only successful enterprise that Pakistan has to its credit since it came into existence. It is, therefore, an ideology that binds the nation together. Obviously, the country is not going to let go of this success simply because a few Indian "analysts" froth and fume against it on Indian television! In fact, they look towards this as an opportunity to showcase their success to their people. Imagine Hafiz Saeed gloating to his aides and followers about the discomfiture that he has caused to "enemy" India by sacrificing just a few Mujahideen who have, in any case, gone to heaven!
By carrying out repetitive debates, high on emotion and low on content, India is simply playing into the hands of the Pakistan's psychological operation's machinery. Definitely, there is a need to expose Pakistan. This should be done, not through television debates, but by providing concrete evidence to world leaders and opinion makers that exposes the double face of the country. The world may not respond straight away but when it is ready to do so it should have the ammunition to accost Pakistan with.
By refusing to talk India once again plays into Pakistan's hands. The best option is to talk only about terror and its adverse affect on normalisation of relations. The talks should be reported in the media in a serious manner that emphasises India's concerns without sensationalising them.
In the counter terrorism narrative it is necessary to build up of a fool proof security apparatus that makes it too expensive for Pakistan to plan and implement its evil agenda. This is easier said than done but the effort has to be made.
Further investigation and interrogation of the terrorist arrested in Jammu and Kashmir has revealed that a few terrorist groups has successfully infiltrated from the Gurdaspur sector and areas of the Kashmir Valley. Some have been killed and some are still at large. This is a matter of grave concern for the security forces.
The fact that the terrorists infiltrated in Jammu and Kashmir have been able to travel large distances and strike in a short span of time points toward the local support that they have received. This can be through terrorists already operating in the area or over ground workers (OGWs).
In Jammu and Kashmir it is local terrorists who are more active than the foreign elements whose number, in any case, is fast dwindling due to lack of reinforcement through infiltration. A reported census carried out by the J&K Police has indicated that 62 percent of the terrorists now operating in the Valley are local youth.The manner in which the security situation is unfolding through support of the local elements should give to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir a lot to worry about. Concrete steps need to be taken urgently to check those local youth who are being indoctrinated to pursue the evil path of terrorism. National media and opinion makers are paying all attention to the ISIS flag waving at the cost of focusing on the more critical issue of radicalisation of the Kashmiri youth. The ISIS does not have a significant footprint in the Kashmir Valley. The radicalised youth are joining, not the ISIS but the Hizbul Mujahdeen (HM), the newly created Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) and also the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) which are very much operational in the area.
The government needs to mark the words of the Army Commander, Northern Command, Lt. Gen. DS Hooda, when he says that, "The numbers (of local terrorists) are not too many, but the fact remains that it was down to single digit during two or three years. In that sense it is something that we need to look at seriously."
Radicalisation of local youth and the new policy of terror mongers to, once again, spread their area of influence beyond the Kashmir valley poses the biggest challenge today.
Lt. Gen. Hooda has, very rightly, identified "alienation and lack of opportunity" as important reasons for Kashmiri youths picking up the gun yet again. The trust deficit due to the ham-handed flood relief measures and increased access to fundamentalist literature on the net are two important reasons. Politics is playing its role too.While the security forces are well poised to take on all challenges that the Pakistan sponsored terror machinery is posing with its policy of spreading its area of influence. This will not be allowed to happen.
The onus of taking firm policy decisions to contain the situation lies firmly with the state and the Central Government. It has to be ensured that the dividend of peace created by intense hard work and sacrifices of the people and the security forces is not in vain. A tight leash has to be kept on terrorist activity to ensure that it is not allowed to raise its ugly head again.
(Dr. Simrit Kahlon is a Professor of Geography with an abiding interest in Jammu and Kashmir) |
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