Unmitigated terror

THE SUICIDE BOMBER attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature complex in Srinagar on Monday, by far the most dastardly act in the nearly three weeks since the U.S. declared a global `war' on terrorism, proclaims loud and clear that the challenge from the foreign-backed terrorist groups is still very real, even if the assault may appear to be a sign of desperation. While the target chosen - the symbol of democratic authority - is in itself a mark of the terrorist outfit's audacity, the fact that the fidayeen group could penetrate such a highly fortified building complex and inflict a huge damage in terms of human lives lost (over 30 persons, many of them civilians, were killed in the outrageous episode) shows there is something seriously wrong with the security system in its varied aspects - planning, intelligence, manpower deployment, state of alert and training in handling different contingencies, et al. Over the past few weeks, there was a perceptible reduction in the level of terrorist violence in the Valley and this, together with the media reports quoting radio intercepts that the militants were closing shop in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was predictably seen as a positive development, attributable to American pressure on Pakistan. If this has lulled the civil administration and the security establishment into a sense of complacency, the latest attack should have shaken them out of it rudely and at a heavy cost.

Given that the Jaish-e-Mohammad - a jehadi outfit formed out of Harkat factions by Masood Azhar who was set free following the Kandahar hijack episode - has claimed `credit' for the attack and, what more, identified the suicide bomber as a person from Pakistan, it is not surprising that India should have reacted sharply, demanding that Islamabad rein in the likes of the JeM. More importantly, New Delhi has pointed to the outrage as yet another `substantive' ground for Washington to move decisively against ``all'' militant groups operating in Kashmir, not selectively. In fact, quite sensitive to India's concerns in the Kashmir context, the Bush administration has been repeatedly telling New Delhi that action against the jehadi groups in general was very much a part of its anti-terrorism campaign, and it is just that the focus in its first (current) phase is on Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11 carnage, and his Al-Qaeda network. In a sense, the JeM's Monday attack could be seen as the jehadi terrorist elements' response to this American stance, conveying that there could be no sell-out of the Kashmir cause under pressure from Washington.

Of considerable significance, therefore, is the reassurance given by the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, to the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, during their interaction, that the fight against terrorism was ``worldwide'' and ``not unidimensional, but covered all its manifestations including those against India''. As the power which had taken upon itself the daunting responsibility of spearheading the global `war' against terrorism - of course with the backing of the United Nations and the active support of individual countries and regional formations - Washington can be expected not to stint on strategic moves, much less leave the task half finished. As of now, the current Osama- specific anti-terrorism campaign is at a very delicate stage and, given the General Pervez Musharraf regime's own predicament, the jehadi elements operating in Jammu and Kashmir are bound to try and exploit the prevailing strategic uncertainties at the international level and go all out to make their presence felt by desperate strikes. At one level, the fact that the whole world has woken up to the threat of terrorism since the September 11 attacks in America should in itself be of great help in fighting it on the Kashmir front. Whatever initiatives Washington might take by way of weakening the terrorist infrastructure of Osama bin Laden whose hand extends to Kashmir would also go a long way in this endeavour. But ultimately the anti-militancy campaign has to be fought and won by India, and it is time that the necessary political and administrative strategies, both long-term and short-term, were worked out by the Government.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Next     : Taliban and the anti-terror stakes