Arun Joshi
The killing of six soldiers and injury to four others in an ambush laid by terrorists is Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district is the latest in series of such attacks in the Union Territory putting a question mark on peace regained in the Union Territory. These attacks have a pattern and despite the best of efforts of the police and security forces the recurrence of such incidents has not stopped.. The response has to be less in rhetoric more in. strategy-driven action on the ground .
The Monday evening attack on troops travelling in army vehicle at Machedi area of Kathua district in South of Jammu region fits into now a familiar pattern of terrorists perched at heights hurling grenades and gunfire on unsuspecting soldiers . These attacks have mostly taken place in the mountainous belt of Jammu region, stretching from Rajouri-Poonch to Reasi to Doda and Kathua districts. These have left the soldiers dead or wounded, and in almost all cases the perpetrators have disappeared into jungles or rocky caves .It is a strategy that has been drawn from Afghanistan , indicating that the attackers are highly trained and well-equipped to survive after the attacks . They dodge the chasing security personnel. They continue to move at the time of their convenience and choose place an targets of their choice.
This is a dangerous phenomenon for multiple reasons ; ( a) these attacks convey a stunning message that the terrorism is alive with its infrastructure, ( b) terrorists can take on hard targets , ( c) they not only show their presence but also challenge the narrative that Jammu and Kashmir is out of shadows of terrorism of yesteryear, ( d) targeting soldiers also causes greater damage to the script that the Indian nation is in full control of Jammu and Kashmir.
These are not ordinary issues . These demand adequate answers because of Jammu and Kashmir again appears on the map of conflict zone , it would not be good for the narratives of normalcy and peace in the Union Territory. This is a serious matter and it should be viewed with that much attention .
A fresh strategy needs to be framed to counter terrorism , in which the real time issues are put on table. The inconvenient realities need to be put on table without a single-lens approach . Indeed Pakistan is involved in these terror attacks because the neighbouring country but the wider question is whether all this is possible without the local support ? This needs to eb asked and answered .
Terrorism doesn’t operate in is9lation . It has its own structure which is built on ideology of destruction which is camouflaged as that of resistance . The terror incidents targeting army troops deliver this message more than targeting the civilians or pilgrims . The soldiers are not soft targets , terrorists know this and that’s why they always try to hit at them to showcase to their mentors across the border and the people in the areas where they strike that they have the potential to target at hard targets.
For the past three years , terrorists have changed their tactics while mounting their deadly assaults on Indian army soldiers . They do so in the mountains and thickly-forested areas which offer them a natural cover to retreat and melt away after the attacks .
The normal response is like fire fighting . After the attacks, it is given out that security forces have retaliated and engaged terrorists in gun fight , but more often than not, terrorists disappear . That means that apart from a favourable terrain of mountains and forests, there is something more than that which helps them survive after the attacks. That is local support , whether that comes out of greed for money or the ideological reasons . This factor is the most crucial .
It is for the army , in particular, in coordination with the local police to devise a strategy in which all the gaps that have occurred in the past few years are bridged . The area domination in the mountains is a must and so is regular interaction with the locals . The biggest danger is that if these terror attacks derail the return of democracy exercise in J&K , terrorists would have achieved their objective . The Indian nation should not allow that to happen.
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
