Gurdaspur aftermath: Preventing an LeT resurgence now depends on Modi govt's actions

While there has been no claim so far by any major terrorist outfit for the 27 July terror attack in Gurdaspur, there are clear signs which substantially point towards a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) hand. There are striking resemblances between the Gurdaspur attack and the terror attacks in March on police stations and security camps in Samba and adjoining area of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir which are located close to Gurdaspur. [caption id=“attachment_2370536” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Also, the equipment recovered and the manner in which the terrorists concealed their identity strongly suggests that they indeed belonged to the LeT. Like in the case of Samba and Kathua attacks, perpetrators of the Gurdaspur attack too had come from Pakistan. This is no imagination as the GPS sets carried by the terrorists indicates that they presumably travelled from a safe house near Gharot, a village close to Shakargarh area in Pakistan. This is further corroborated by the fact that India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB) had issued a warning earlier of a group travelling from around Gharot area planning to infiltrate. However, no specifics regarding the target or the date of purported infiltration were available. The GPS sets recovered from terrorists in the Gurdaspur attack also indicated that they got into Indian territory from Dhusi Bandh river embankment, planting bombs at the railway track and then proceeding to attack the police station. The Gurdaspur attack is indicative of the LeT’s resurgence. The crucial question is how the now famous Modi-Doval doctrine is going to deal with this fountainhead of terror. While the Gurdaspur attack may not be a fit case to be seen as revival of Sikh militancy in Punjab, a terrorist attack in the state after a long gap nevertheless does become a cause for worry. This is primarily due to the fact that Pakistan still very enthusiastically hosts a good number of pro-Khalistan elements. There are inputs with Indian intelligence agencies that on the instructions of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) has been seriously carrying out recruitment drive in a big way as part of the “Khalistan by 2020 campaign”. There have also been reliable inputs of regular meetings taking place between BKI and LeT in Lahore to coordinate a big attack in Punjab and New Delhi. Both these terror groups are in turn extended every possible assistance by ISI and given directions to carry out terror acts. This offer of guidance has throughout been seen in various attacks carried out by Pakistani terrorists in India, 26/11 being a glaring example. Interrogation of Jagtar Singh Tara, chief of Khalistan Tiger Force revealed that LeT was extending all assistance, including training, to Khalistani elements based in Pakistan. Tara was arrested with the help of cooperation between Punjab police and Thailand police and extradited from Bangkok earlier this year. During his interrogation, Tara also revealed that there were plans to offload ammunition from Pakistan through an individual of a Kashmiri group at an unspecified location on the banks of river Ravi near Gurdaspur. Some intelligence inputs suggest that the original target of the terrorist was the Amarnath Yatra. It is not known what made the Gurdaspur attack perpetrators change their mind and focus on Gurdaspur instead. However, that surely does not mean that the terror threat over Amarnath Yatra has now disappeared. Pakistan has been involved in the recent past in trying to spread violence within India while also simultaneously raising its voice in international forums alleging India’s role in the Peshawar massacre. Pakistan has also been instigating the separatist and extremist elements in the Kashmir valley against the security forces and the Indian government. This not being enough, Pakistan has even been ridiculously accusing of India’s hand in Pakistan’s natural disasters. However, despite all these accusations, Pakistan has neither been able to malign India internationally nor has succeeded in enhancing its stature globally. Pakistan, while being the perpetrator, has condemned the Gurdaspur attack. It will have to be seen what effect it will have on India’s response to Pakistan’s actions. Indications emanating from credible sources in the Narendra Modi government are that New Delhi is not going to call off the National Security Advisor (NSA)-level talks with Pakistan and will go ahead with this major bilateral exercise next month. In a way, this is already a major change of policy by the Modi government, while the BJP had always maintained that talks and terror cannot go together with Pakistan. When the two NSAs meet in New Delhi next month, it would indicate a major concession given by the Modi government to Pakistan. One will have to wait and see whether the changed stance of the Modi government vis a vis Pakistan produces anything tangible. Given Pakistan’s penchant for using terrorism as an instrument of its foreign policy, one is always in doubt as to how successful the NSA-level talks will be, even if held. Only time will tell.