The first Pakistani terrorist attack after Uri, and the Indian response of a cross-LoC “surgical strike” that followed, came on Sunday night in Baramulla when a well-equipped gang of terrorists failed in an hours-long bid to storm an infantry division headquarters. After the Indian operation across the Line of Control, a counter from the Pakistani side was expected. Our forces were prepared. And they showed in Barmulla how to deal with terror strikes. For decades, Pakistan has used jihadist proxies against India as the use of its own military would amount to an open declaration of war while the former offers the fig-leaf of plausible deniability. Proxies are trained to infiltrate into J&K. Covering fire on the LoC is offered by the Pakistan Army to facilitate the infiltration.
In the past two years, the undesirable jihadi arrivals have seen a rising trend that got higher in the past seven-eight months. Thus, at any given time these days, there could well be a few hundred trained, well-equipped and battle-hardened Pakistani guerrillas burrowed in J&K. They go out on attack missions on instruction. The Baramulla attack on yet another security forces’ establishment — after Udhampur, Pathankot and Uri — appears on surface to have been mounted by desperadoes who are already in the Valley. The Indian response was solid and well-coordinated. The Army, BSF and the Special Operations Group of the J&K police each played a role in harmony with the others.
The burden on the BSF, that has a camp right next to the Army’s divisional HQ in Baramulla, was immense and its jawans played a key role in thwarting the terrorists’ bid to get inside the Army establishment. A young BSF jawan died in the operation but he held up his end with aplomb for someone so young. The Pakistanis are desperate to infiltrate more of their jihadi troops before the winter snows make this difficult. Two bids were foiled in Poonch and Gurdaspur. As well as guarding the LoC and the international boundary to prevent infiltration, it should be India’s effort to smoke out terrorist fighters from their hideouts inside J&K, whether these are in urban areas or in the mountains.
If this can be accomplished by throwing in more manpower and giving added responsibility to the J&K police and the BSF, Pakistan’s immediate plans can be thwarted. This approach has greater value for now than launching cross-LoC raids. The need of the hour is “counter-terrorism”, not “counter-insurgency”, as we don’t have a population in Kashmir that is infected with the pro-Pakistan or pro-jihad bug. Chest-thumping of the kind defence minister Manohar Parrikar has recently done is best avoided. It serves no purpose.
