The attack on district police complex in Pulwama in South Kashmir has come after a gap of almost two months thereby ringing alarm bells in the security establishment. Operational commanders are now reviewing their tactics to prevent further incidents and have initiated several measures like further strengthening perimeter security of all vital installations and conducting area domination patrols in the area close to such camps.
The last ‘fidayeen (suicide)’ assault took place in June when at least two terrorists tried to storm into a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Pulwama. However, the terrorists were killed in a firefight by the alert jawans.
As regards the latest attack, officials said here on Saturday Pakistan Army and ISI backed terrorists are desperate to step up levels of violence and will try to carry out similar assaults on high value targets like Army or other security forces camps, Army convoys and vital installations.
Keeping this factor in view, local commanders are now redrawing their strategy to deny terrorists a free run, sources said adding the local police will further improve its intelligence gathering machinery. Moreover, the Army has increased vigil on the line of Control (loC) to prevent spike in infiltrations. One of the main reasons for this step is to stop fresh recruits from sneaking in and conduct a ‘fidayeen (suicide) attack within 24 to 48 hours at the nearest security forces installation, they said.
Elaborating upon the modus operandi of ‘fidayeen’ attackers, officials said such highly motivate terrorists travel light with weapon, ammunition and dry fruits to sustain themselves for a couple of days. After infiltrating, these terrorists chose their target and observe the layout of the camp before attacking it.
Admitting that element of surprise always rests with the terrorist, sources said they manage to inflict casualties amongst the security forces within the first few moments before they are located and a prolonged fight then ensues. One example of such an attack is the April 27 incident this year in which one captain and two jawans were killed in an assault on an Army camp in Kupwara near the loC.
With only two more months left before the ingress routes are blocked by snow, nearly 250 terrorists now lodged in various launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) across the loC are racing against time to infiltrate.
While the anti-infiltration grid is geared to stop a surge in infiltration bids, terrorists will try to come in bigger numbers in an effort to bolster the strength of terrorists now hiding in the Kashmir valley. The Army along with the CRPF and local police have launched a two-pronged operation wherein gaps on the lOC are plugged on the one hand and tempo of operations increased in the hinterland to ferret out terrorists and engage them on the other hand.
In fact, the Army has now deployed four additional battalions (one battalion has 1,000 soldiers) in the Kashmir valley and the CRPF has also deployed 50 additional companies (100 personnel comprise one company) in the same area to cover almost all the area including remote villages and less travelled roads.