The Army needs an equitable and just solution so as to maintain its upper hand to check the constant intrusion of terrorists from across. Winter is approaching
For the uninitiated, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute building at Pampore seems like a magnet for the lashkar-e-Tayyeba, which has targeted it for the second time in less than eight months. Unfortunately, for them, success, if you can call it that, has completely eluded them this time.
It is a foregone conclusion that once terrorists are pinned down or blockaded in one location, there can be only one way that events will run their course. The militants may put up some resistance, but it is only a matter of time before they are, as is euphemistically referred to, ‘neutralised’. For terrorists on the other hand, success is defined by the number of casualties that they can cause, especially among the security forces.
By that yardstick, they were extremely successful earlier in March, as we had three special operation’s soldiers martyred, including two officers. This time, apart from some minor injuries, there have been no casualties among the security forces involved. Importantly, it is wonderful to see that the Army has not attempted to rush in and clear the militants as it had on the previous occasions.
In Kashmir, the Army hierarchy has consistently ensured that time is never allowed to become a factor in such kind of operations as the terrorist will, at some stage, run out of essentials and be unable to continue the siege. Unfortunately, there had been a serious aberration in the manner in which the earlier encounter had been conducted. Reasons for that, if one were to believe rumours, were that the troops involved had been given specific orders by senior commanders that curtailed their conduct of operations resulting in unwarranted fatalities. In that sense, the hierarchy has certainly corrected itself and allowed the engagement to play out to our advantage, notwithstanding criticism by those too ignorant to know better and with nothing to lose.
This encounter is, however, important for some very different reasons. First, there has been a complete absence of elements from within the local population to assist the terrorists by disrupting the tactical operations of the security forces. This clearly shows that these elements have realised that, after our response to the Uri outrage, such actions will probably be robustly dealt with. Second, while the Army had learnt valuable lessons from the previous encounter, the terrorists obviously did not expect the Army to react as it had earlier.
More importantly, it also clearly shows utter desperation among jihadi outfits to try and regain moral ascendancy after the devastation of the cross-border raids. Their ability to cause serious damage is increasingly lacking credibility and this will further spur them to attempt even more desperate and suicidal attacks. With the onset of the winters in a couple of weeks, they are aware that lack of action on their part will be interpreted as defeat and whatever little support they had been able to garner over the past few months will rapidly melt away. Moreover, their own survival too will come under increasing threat as hiding in the hills and forests becomes increasingly difficult and they are forced to move into inhabited areas. Their vulnerability increases manifold once they are forced into towns and villages, especially as their movements and locations are easier to ascertain for our intelligence establishments.
Finally, as the Army gains the upper hand once again, it is time for the political leadership to look towards an equitable and just solution to the many problems that confront Jammu & Kashmir. The people of the region were promised development and change. It is up to both the parties in the Government to deliver on their promises. This requires more than just slogans.
(The writer is a military veteran and consultant with the Observer Research Foundation)