JAMMU: An audacious fidayeen strike by the Pakistan based terrorist group on Pathankot air base has once again exposed the vulnerability of the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway dotted with army camps, police stations and over one dozen highway checking points.
Due to its proximity to the International Border it continues to remain on the hit list of the terror groups and from time to time these militant outfits exploit big gaps to infiltrate inside the Indian territory.
Lack of coordination between different security agencies,poor intelligence gathering and lack of vigil along the border areas often put security establishment in the dock when terrorists launch audacious strikes and inflict maximum casualties on the security forces.
Despite witnessing numerous terror strikes the security establishment too has learnt very few lessons.
The terror groups have also been exploiting the situation by taking advantage of the poor policing in the border belt of Jammu region.
Shift in militant strategy to target vulnerable targets in Gurdaspur district has also unnerved senior security strategists.
These terror groups from across the border prefer pushing terrorists inside the Indian territory via International Border to carry out sinister terror plots.
According to a retired police officer, “The infiltrators find it easy to negotiate their way using GPS systems via International Border and it is for this reason the National Highway between Jammu and Pathankot always remain on the hit list”.
The water bodies along the border are frequently used as infiltration route by these terror groups but the BSF too has failed to plug the loopholes wherever necessary by additional deployment of foot soldiers.
In the recent years BSF has introduced indigenous technology and state of the art surveillance to improve the vigil along the International border but infiltrators still manage to dodge their eyes and ears and sneak inside the Indian territory from different routes taking undue advantage of hostile terrain.
In the last decade the army authorities have fortified their units by raising boundary walls and erecting watch towers on the other hand the state police has failed to strengthen its defences to effectively deal with the militant threat. The responsibility also lies with the state govt for ignoring the security needs of their own police force.
Heavy movement of pilgrim traffic, army convoys and routine rush along densely populated areas distract attention of police force leading to compromising the security of the strategic highway.
The police force has not been given the option of focusing only on highway patrolling as they have to deal with routine complaints to maintain law and order in their areas of jurisdiction.
The checking points on the interior roads linking border villages with the national highway often remain deserted allowing terrorists to roam free and launch audacious strikes without facing much resistance.
The village defence committees and poor police-public liaison has also failed to help the local police authorities improve its quality of intelligence gathering.
In the past it has been seen after infiltrating inside the Indian territory the terrorists often hijack a local vehicle and reach their destination. For some time the security personnel remain alert and local population in the border areas also keep a tight vigil on the suspicious movement of miscreants in their area but after a long gap they too become complacent and lower their guard.