Intel Warns of Fresh Pak-backed Hits on Premier Targets in J&K
After the April 22 attack at Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow, in which 26 tourists were gunned down by terrorists, security at Srinagar and Jammu airports have been upgraded, and the security grid in the hinterland has been heightened
New Delhi:As the spectre of geopolitical churn looms over the South Asian region, the Pakistani Deep State has sought to step up its low- intensity conflict in Jammu and Kashmir by diversifying the variety of hits in the Kashmir Valley.
Inputs from the intelligence agencies suggest Pakistan-backed terrorist groups have set their eyes on high-value targets in Jammu and Kashmir, including vital installations like airports as well as “soft targets” like police, paramilitary and armed forces personnel on leave.
Besides vital installations, the terror proxies of Pakistan Army-ISI combine are seeking to exploit the communal fault lines after the agencies cracked down on the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba terrorists and razed down at least nine houses of the local terror sympathisers.
Amid inputs on the targeting of policemen and other uniformed personnel, intelligence advisories have warned that planning and reconnaissance activities are under way by the terrorists. . All police personnel on duty should stay in the premises of the Special Operations Group when off duty. Those in charge of police teams should actively advise their personnel not to stay at home for a while and make alternate arrangements. They have also been asked to take the alert seriously. The security of special police officers has also been taken care of by police stations and they should stay at camps and should not be put on rotation duty for a few weeks.
After the April 22 attack at Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow, in which 26 tourists were gunned down by terrorists, security at Srinagar and Jammu airports have been upgraded, and the security grid in the hinterland has been heightened.
Sources said there are specific inputs that terrorists, most likely belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen or the Kashmir Tigers, may target high-value targets with improvised explosive devices and drones. The agencies have also flagged the possibility of vehicle-borne IEDs being used to target such installations. The terror groups earlier used such a tactic in the 2019 Pulwama attack, where 20 CRPF personnel were killed.
Knocked-down parts of military-grade drones are suspected to have been smuggled into the Valley for planned attacks, sources said, adding the state security apparatus was alerted to secure all vital assets like military bases and camps, dams, electricity installations and All India Radio and Doordarshan facilities.
The intelligence agencies have also alerted the local police as well as paramilitary and Army personnel, both serving and retired, not to visit their native places, particularly those which are in terrorism-affected areas. The alert came after credible inputs that the terrorists may try to strike at “soft targets” like uniformed men on leave.
Local station house officers have been told to alert retired police officials to stay vigilant. All district police offices were alerted to thwart any possible attacks on such personnel.
The inputs on police, paramilitary and Army personnel came soon after an audio message was released by a self-styled terror commander, Ahmed Salaar, to target the forces’ personnel. The audio clip has warned of reprisals for demolishing the houses of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba jihadis.
Meanwhile, “area domination” and “cordon and search operations” have been intensified to track down the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam hits. Analysts said there was a need to further enhance one-on-one coordination between the Army and the CRPF in the wake of the Pahalgam attack rather than an excessive reliance on the Jammu and Kashmir police.