Pulwama Terror Attack is India's biggest failure of intelligence since 26/11
It's been a sleepless night for most Indians.
Images of the brutal suicide bombing in Pulwama of South Kashmir late Thursday afternoon, flashed on TV screens and social media, just don't fade away, even hours after the attack. In what would be called the biggest — and most coldblooded — terror attack on the armed forces in the last two decades, a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle in-between a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Pulwama, South Kashmir. The blast turned the bus into a mangled piece of metal and also resulted in an absolute bloodbath. More than 40 CRPF personnel travelling in the bus, hailing from different parts of the country, died instantly.
"39 of the 44 bodies are mutilated beyond recognition. There is utter chaos. We will decimate the DNA of the terrorists," said an angry CRPF officer, who also happens to be a doctor and was recently in New Delhi to receive a bravery award for saving the lives of security forces in Kashmir during an encounter with terrorists.
Today, helplessly in tears, he fights against hope to save lives — and prays for a miracle.
The scene of the crime at Pulwama has been devastating.
Crushed and broken body parts, with clothes and shoes lying all across alongside burnt vehicle debris. Images and videos from the site have been travelling on WhatsApp all across the country with moving, angry messages of condemnation. So much so that the anger spilt onto the streets with protests against Pakistan not just in Jammu but even in Lucknow, New Delhi and other cities.
Minutes after the attack, the Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the assault, in a statement along with the video of a suicide bomber who happened to be an 11th standard dropout from South Kashmir. 20-year-old Adil Ahmad Dar, according to agencies, was recruited by Jaish in March 2018 and given extensive training by an Afghan terror commander of Jaish — who was specially sent to Kashmir for this dastardly conspiracy.
But, the conspiracy around this most cowardly attack goes back to the nephews of a most-wanted terrorist sitting in Pakistan, enjoying the support of the deep state — and even China which has blocked India's efforts at the UNSC 1267 Committee to designate him as a 'global terrorist'.
In November 2017, a one hour, forty-five minute audio of Pakistan-based Jaish Chief and most wanted terrorist, Maulana Masood Azhar, was accessed from Bahawalpur in Pakistan.
The audio was recent and claimed responsibility for an attack planned on a BSF camp outside Srinagar Airport, which was thwarted by alert security forces. Masood Azhar could be seen in his traditional style, preaching hatred against India at an undisclosed seminary and brainwashing youth to wage Jihad against India in Kashmir. While Azhar continued with his rhetoric, he also went on to indicate that there was a huge inflow of people to join him for suicide — or 'fidayeen' — missions against India.
In February 2018, intelligence agencies accessed a 20-minute audio of Rauf Asgar, brother of Masood Azhar, who is the Operational Chief of Jaish, from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), in which he was seen brainwashing a group of fidayeen ready at launchpads to infiltrate India for planned terror attacks. This was being seen by agencies as the creation of the 'Afzal Guru Squad' to taken revenge on the Indian forces. Asgar also revealed in the audio that Maulana Masood Azhar and Syed Salahuddin were in PoK to meet these fidayeen before leaving for their so-called Jihad.
The intelligence intercepts said that Masood Azhar and Syed Salahuddin met cadres of United Jihad Council in Neelum Valley of PoK on January 31st 2018, and planned on pushing terrorists in small groups into Kashmir for attacks. This latest revelation also suggested a growing synergy between radically indoctrinated Jaish with locally recruited Hizbul Mujahideen, at a time when Lashkar was taking a backseat due to international pressure on Pakistan to act against Hafiz Saeed as well as the top leadership of Lashkar being wiped out by security forces in Kashmir.
Unfortunately, the intelligence inputs could not avert the gruesome pre-dawn attack that followed at the Sunjuwan Military Station in Jammu, killing one civilian and 11 soldiers. The attack was perpetrated meticulously by four well-trained Jaish terrorists from FATA, in Pakistan, with the help of Over Ground Workers (OGWs) in southern Kashmir.
The attack sent security forces and intelligence agencies into a tizzy and led them to Mufti Waqas — operations chief of Jaish in Kashmir.
Subsequently, in March 2018, security forces gunned down Mufti Waqas in Awantipora of Kashmir — a precision-style surgical strike by a handful of officers.
Jaish, which was prepared for suicide missions, did not take losing Mufti Waqas as a big setback, even as it continued to plan small and big strategic attacks in the Valley. Intel inputs kept agencies and forces alert on possible attacks by Jaish on military or paramilitary convoys or stations.
Masood Azhar, who fancies himself to be a journalist writing weekly columns in a Jihadi publication Al-Qalam, did indeed have other plans.
This time, his own 18-year-old nephew, Abu Usman, was sent to carry out sniper attacks using M4 carbine. Usman was younger to Talha Rasheed, another nephew of Masood Azhar, known to brandish M4 carbine who was eliminated by forces in November 2017 — at Pulwama. The images of M4 with terrorists in the Valley again sent forces into sleepless nights, followed by successful sniper attacks which tested the forces' patience. Over a dozen sniper attacks led to the killing of at least 8 security forces. It was only in October last year that the forces, in a sophisticated operation, could eliminate Abu Usman in Tral, southern Kashmir, and recover the much talked about M4.
A visibly shaken Masood Azhar, who perhaps had not expected an early death of his nephew, released a three-minute audio merely two days after the killing.
Azhar, while paying tribute to his nephew and other terrorists killed, asked the common Kashmiris to join in and enjoy martyrdom.
The frustrated terror commander, who often used young Pakistani boys for fidayeen attacks after weeks of brainwashing them, was perhaps for the first time seen begging Kashmiris to die for his 'cause' in utter desperation.
The possibility of instant revenge by Masood Azhar for the killing of both his nephews and the top brass of Jaish in the Valley now was no rocket science.
Intel inputs suggested that an Afghan war veteran was in the Valley, especially to lead the conspiracy of revenge, which culminated in an attack that is turning out to be the biggest intelligence failure since 26/11.
As condemnations pour in from across the world, and India asks the international community to act against Pakistan, the response for the Kashmir massacre cannot be dead stony silence.
While we saw enough diplomatic anger in the media after the Pathankot and URI terror attacks, the gruesome massacre yesterday has forever changed the dynamics of terror in the Valley. For the first time, a suicide bombing technique is being seen adopted by terror groups in Kashmir — an occurrence which is common in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is important to distinguish between the usual fidayeen attacks that happen in Jammu & Kashmir — where there is a scope for escape — and the current suicide bombing, which was to take the bomber's own life to carry out maximum casualty and damage on our forces.
Even as the intelligence agencies and investigating agencies will now put together a brief on the failures that led to the attack, and the precautions to be taken in the future, all eyes are now on the diplomatic and strategic response to this open provocation by Pakistan.
While the Cabinet Committee on Security and the National Security Council would immediately look at options provided by the military, NSA and top diplomats, it's important to begin somewhere slowly and give a well-calibrated response — away from anger, emotions and current politics.
One important step in this direction could be to dramatically lower diplomatic ties with Pakistan where New Delhi won't have much to lose. The removal of the 'Most Favoured Nation' status from Pakistan has been a step in the right direction thus.
Secondly, the Indian government needs to end this awkward practice of providing high-profile security to Pakistani puppets and separatists — this includes Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, who regularly incite violence in the valley. Immediately revoking their security, and choking their funding, could be the beginning of their separatist shops being shut after decades of violence and killings.
The attack also came days after India hosted the Indus Water inspection team from Pakistan and behaved in a most generous manner. Why cannot India further toughen its stand on the Indus Water Treaty?
The military response is very much the domain of the sharpest minds in South Block, who would already be prepared with options to carry out sustained damage at a place and time of our choosing.
If New Delhi today — yet again — refuses to smell the coffee and lets Islamabad carry out such brazen attacks against our forces, even after three decades of mayhem, then India will continue to pay for the blunder of letting a terror state run amok and go unchallenged.
New Delhi's lack of a Kashmir policy and strategic response to avenge the martyrdom of our forces may continue to haunt us for very long — especially if we fail to make the world finally notice.
Also read: We could see Pulwama coming – and there’s more to follow