A doctor and six labourers were killed and five people were injured when the terrorists fired indiscriminately at the tunnel construction site at Gund on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on 20 October evening. The innocent civilians were returning back to their camp after a day’s hard work on a tunnel which would ensure round-the-clock connectivity between Srinagar and Ladakh. The terrorists believed to be at least two, possibly wanted to kill only the non-locals but some locals also became the victim of this terror strike.
This is the first terror attack after Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government has assumed power only in the last week. The terror strike aims to signal the new government to return back to the core agenda of bleeding India through terrorism in J&K and revive the call for separatism. The choice of terror attack at Ganderbal which is represented by Mr. Omar Abdullah in the assembly is also significant. Pakistan based Deep State wants to convey that the local government in J&K has to toe their line, earlier the better.
The terror attacks have been condemned by the Home Minister and a number of others in power. The security forces have launched a massive search operation to neutralize the terrorists. The basic tactics of the terrorists is to shoot and scoot. Many times, such counter measures are not very effective. Instead, operations launched on hard intelligence delivers the results. It would be advisable to strengthen the security grid to prevent any more such terror attacks.
In the run up to the formation of the new government, a resurgence in terror actions was clearly predicted. I am sure that the security forces and various agencies would have done their homework and prepared for the approach on ground. This unfortunate incident again underscores that the intelligence network in J&K has let us down once again. Also, the overground workers (OGWs) supporting the terrorists have not been fully deactivated. In fact, Pak sponsored terror network would like to revive the people’s support to terrorism by selling the dream of an independent Kashmir.
The deep state in Pakistan would also be emboldened by the demand of National Conference to restore Article 370 and Article 35A in J&K. May be such attacks are precursor to similar attacks in the Jammu region. The security forces deserve to commended for conducting the most peaceful election in J&K in the recent times. Just compare it with violence level which happened in West Bengal assembly elections in the year 2021 and the parliamentary elections this year. But now the approach to security in J&K has to reoriented to ensure peace & normalcy towards functioning of a democratically elected government and development agenda.
In my opinion, the intelligence setup in J&K appears to have become stale and fresh blood needs to be infused. The accountability must be fixed in case of every intelligence failure including this particular terror strike. A huge amount of coordination between the state administration and the security agencies is needed on real time basis. We as a nation need to learn a lot from Israel where the counter intelligence and counter strike has no limits. Our ability to hurt the adversary hiding anywhere has to deliver unabashedly.
The security forces also have to ensure that they dominate the areas of responsibility with boots on ground. Mere surveillance by drones and area domination by vehicles may not be sufficient. There has to be continuity in launching intelligence-based operations, aimed both at the terrorists and the OGWs. The deep state in Pakistan would like to keep the Kashmir region also unstable, as they have achieved in establishing their foothold in the Jammu region. The security forces have to remain alert and proactive till the onset of winters in J&K.
One different approach to overall security in J&K could be through utilisation of private security. In India, private security is a well-established business and it has employed large number of retired Army Officers and retired Army soldiers in the security duties/responsibilities. With so many infrastructure projects under construction in J&K and Ladakh, uniformed personnel including police may not be sufficient to provide close protection to the employees and the workers. Some select private agencies could be empowered and employed in J&K and Ladakh on a trial basis. With due diligence and hand holding, the private security can reinforce the existing security set up in J&K as on required basis.
Ultimately, all the peace and security which lasts has to be people centric. In J&K, the people have voted in record numbers for a bright future under the Indian Union. J&K has lagged behind in development because of the terrorism. Peace and normalcy are essential ingredients for growth and development. The people of J&K have to rise and condemn such mindless acts of violence. Irrespective of the political affiliations, the idea of Naya Kashmir can only survive and flourish when the common citizen is up in arms against terrorism of any form. A collective approach and synergy of efforts will signal the end of terrorism and the rise of Naya Kashmir.
