“Pakistan’s J&K misadventure”
Dr Varinder Sharma
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in his statement made in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament has said that a total of 28 people, including civilians and security personnel, were killed in 11 terror-initiated incidents and 24 encounters or counter-terror operations up to July 21 this year. Its an open secret that proxy war by incorrigible Pakistan is creating this unrest in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir especially in wake of abrogation of Article 370 and enemy nation having been isolated on international forums.
However, recent attacks in the Reasi, Doda and Kathua districts of Jammu that left nine civilians and a CRPF personnel dead, besides leaving 49 others, including seven security personnel injured was worrisome especially when situation in this part of the region was quite normal since past over two decades. Now when the militancy is on its last leg and government is focussing on economic aspects including mining lithium in district Reasi or ensuring peaceful pilgrimages, Pakistan is again trying to escalate violence only to stay relevant.
Taking cognisance of the matter, the union government has ordered deployment of additional troops. In addition to 3000 army and 2000 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in various parts of Jammu, the union government has now decided reinforce security grid by two additional battalions of Assam Rifles in the region to strengthen counter-militancy operations against the foreign terrorists who have gone hiding in upper reaches of different districts of Jammu region.
These troops will well be defending borders and flushing out terrorists from out of our territory. In the given situation, besides reinforcement, what’s needed is a proactive approach to finish this residual menace of militancy by going on full throttle on the enemy. Although we believe in no first attack policy yet such stray incidents need to be considered as an act of war especially when about fifty foreign terrorists are believed to be hiding in the forests of Doda, Udhampur, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi and Kathua districts.
A few days ago, former Jammu Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dr SP Vaid too had disclosed that a large number of Pakistan Army SSG commandos were preparing to cross over to this side of border and a few have even managed to infiltrate. “This is going to be a long haul, and we need to be prepared for anything”, he had said adding that their number is in hundreds and intend to engage 15 and 16 corps of Indian Army fully in the coveted war.
“It’s an act of war and we have to remain alert. We can’t tolerate this,” Vaid had said adding that efforts are on to disrupt the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir. SP Vaid even named one Adil Rehmani as GoC, SSG Commandoes Pakistan Army who according to him had been organising the infiltrators in Jammu and Kashmir. “There is one Lieutenant Colonel Shahid Saleem who has already reportedly infiltrated in Jammu and Kashmir. He has activated all the sleeper cells. Two more battalions are ready to sneak into this part of Jammu and Kashmir,” Vaid claimed.
It is no surprise the precision with which these attacks are taking place, its nothing short of an act of war and India needs to respond proactively. We have better intelligence network and once these unhealthy developments of any such group of trained infiltrators roaming around on this side of the fence is confirmed, the security agencies must go ahead with full throttle and eliminate them all. Simultaneously, time has come when India is now required to choose a right time and place of our own choice to teach Pakistan – a failed and rouge state one final lesson. When an enemy nation is out there to target civilians, buses and soldiers in series a retaliation with full military might become a must.
This final assault will not only keep the hiding militants under check but also stop more terrorists from entering into jungles to take shelter in natural hideouts. This will also stop locals, if any, from being a support to these terrorists without which they can’t survive. We also need to dismantle this network wherein locals are continuing to support or give shelter to terrorists or even aiding their operations in any manner.
Security forces, as said, are also in the process of setting up camps in vulnerable areas other than the forests to keep vigil on any kind of movement of the terrorists but I believe this is the only time when Pakistan is weak in terms of finances, on political front and isolated across the globe and there can’t be any other better time than this to strike the terror network operating from its soil.
Going into the history of India and prevailing situation across the globe, its established that whenever Pakistan has tried to do any misadventure into India, it has faced a humiliating defeat. Besides skirmishes on the borders and a proxy war, Pakistan has also entered into four wars with India but face humiliating defeats. This establishes that, with more military might which we have gathered over a period of time this time its going to be more tough for Pakistan to sustain for longer in the battlefield.
In 1947, fearing that the Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir might accede to India, Pakistan sent tribal Islamic forces into the region, occupying parts of the princely state. This pressure led the Maharaja to sign the Instrument of Accession, formally aligning the state with India to secure Indian military assistance. This was followed by the establishment of a ceasefire and the creation of the Line of Control (LoC).
In 1965, Pakistan again attempted to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir to incite an insurgency against Indian rule. India responded with a full-scale military assault on West Pakistan. This seventeen-day war included the largest tank battle since World War II and ended with a ceasefire, formalized by the Tashkent Declaration.
Undeterred, Pakistan engaged in another conflict with India in 1971. The war culminated in Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi of Pakistan’s Eastern Command signing the instrument of surrender in Dhaka, in the presence of India’s Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora. This conflict led to the creation of Bangladesh and the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani troops, marking a humiliating defeat for Pakistan.
In 1999, Pakistani troops infiltrated across the LoC, occupying Indian territory primarily in the Kargil district. After two months of conflict, Indian forces had reclaimed most of the occupied ridges. Facing potential international isolation, Pakistan’s already fragile economy suffered further damage, and the morale of Pakistani forces plummeted as many units of the Northern Light Infantry incurred heavy casualties. Pakistan refused to accept the bodies of many officers. Nawaz Sharif later revealed that over 4,000 Pakistani troops were killed in the operation, and Pakistan ultimately lost the conflict
In addition to the aforementioned wars, India and Pakistan have experienced numerous skirmishes over the years, some approaching the brink of all-out war while others remained limited in scope. For instance, in 1955, both nations engaged in warlike posturing, but a full-scale conflict was averted.
Recently, India’s bold actions, such as abrogating Article 370, ending stone-pelting incidents, eradicating the hartal culture, targeting separatists, and securing borders, have significantly weakened militant activities. There is now an opportunity to dismantle the entire terror ecosystem through a proactive approach.
The government has already seized and attached properties of terrorists and their associates, banned anti-national organizations, launched preventive operations, and initiated investigations to uncover the mechanisms supporting terrorism. Additionally, a multi-pronged strategy to prevent infiltration, enhance the counter-insurgency grid, and modernize and strengthen security equipment has been implemented. These measures need to be complemented by a decisive final assault, the timing and location of which should be determined by military strategy in the coming days, months, or even years.
(The writer is Co-convenor Professional Cell, J&K BJP)
