logo
Post-Pahalgam

Post-Pahalgam

Time of India25-04-2025

Security lapse questions need clear answers. LoC/border infra needs massive upgrade
Undeniably, Pahalgam has been a huge blow to India's security apparatus in J&K. Now, SOPs must be overhauled, systems reoriented, and coordination between agencies sharpened. But the revamp must begin with some tough questions. Was Baisaran Valley opened up to tourists much earlier than other years? Some reports say the area is usually open to visitors during the Amarnath Yatra, when there are stringent security arrangements. Whether or not local hoteliers and tour operators failed to inform authorities about tourist movement isn't clear. Were arrangements this week different to those in the last tourist season? Local tourism industry is arguing that govt didn't provide them with any alerts ahead of the tourist influx. Clearly, vital coordination between security forces and local businesses fell through the cracks.
Border lacunae: Note also that the terrorists had better eyes on the situation, saw an opportunity and struck. This shows that terrorists are constantly probing for weaknesses. That's why terrorists need to be stopped at the border/LoC itself. But there are multiple lacunae with border infra too. Govt had launched the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System project after the 2016 Pathankot attack to upgrade border fencing with state-of-the-art surveillance systems. But it remains a work in progress, having missed two deadlines in 2018 and 2023.
Bureaucracy that kills: Plus, routine weather-related challenges with border fencing management remain. Damage to fencing due to winter snow takes months to repair because of both terrain and bureaucratic delays. Battery-operated surveillance equipment such as night-vision devices drain power quickly in the cold and can't be charged due to lack of power at many places along the border. Repairs to sensitive surveillance radar can take weeks. Fuel for generators that run searchlights often runs low. Even electrified fencing has proved to be ineffective in some places due to lack of steady electricity supply and low voltage. These leave gaps in the border fencing that terrorists exploit.
Smuggling-terror nexus: Arms – including weapons for Nato – are being smuggled into Punjab via drones. A similar smuggling route exists via Nepal. Nato-grade weapons have been seized from terrorists in J&K. This is happening under our noses. Why hasn't govt been able to crack down on the influx of smuggled weapons?
Response failure: Former army commanders are calling Pahalgam an intelligence failure. It's a familiar pattern, but the history of terrorist attacks this century shows the charge is misplaced. While the facts of Pahalgam are yet to be established, the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Pulwama, Uri, 26/11, and 9/11 all point to a different problem – 'response failure'. There were warnings in all these cases that weren't acted upon. America's 9/11 Commission report summed up the problem well: 'No analytic work foresaw the lightning that could connect the thundercloud to the ground.' And 9/11 was a colossal response failure. Leads about a possible attack had been coming in all summer, yet 'as late as Sep 4' govt didn't have an answer to the question, 'Is al Qaeda a big deal?' Before 26/11, India received warnings of a major attack from its own sources and US. As for Pulwama, Frontline found there were at least 11 intelligence inputs between Jan 2 and Feb 13, 2019 – a day before the attack. Israel had been getting warnings of Hamas's invasion plan since 2018. At least, its security agency, Shin Bet, has formally accepted its lapses within 18 months. In India, probes take long, and mea culpas are unheard of.
So, the least we expect after Pahalgam is a timely inquiry, and publication of its findings to restore people's confidence. Govt owes it to the 26 victims of the massacre, and to Kashmir, which needs to return to normalcy.
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Operation Sindoor Diplomacy: PM Modi Meets MPs Of Multi-Party Delegations
Operation Sindoor Diplomacy: PM Modi Meets MPs Of Multi-Party Delegations

News18

time42 minutes ago

  • News18

Operation Sindoor Diplomacy: PM Modi Meets MPs Of Multi-Party Delegations

Last Updated: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met MPs from seven multi-party delegations involved in Operation Sindoor, including Kanimozhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Rekha Sharma. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Members of Parliament who went abroad as part of seven multi-party delegations as part of India's global outreach on Operation Sindoor. Several MPs including DMK's Kanimozhi, BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rekha Sharma and Phangnon Konyak, BJD's Sasmit Patra, and AIADMK's M Thambidurai arrived at the PM's 7, Lok Kalyan Marge in New Delhi for the meeting. Operation Sindoor India launched Operation Sindoor early on May 7 to destroy nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. All subsequent retaliations to Pakistani offensives were carried out under this operation. In his address to the nation on May 12, PM Modi said Operation Sindoor is now India's established policy in the fight against terrorism, marking a decisive shift in India's strategic approach. He had said that Operation Sindoor has added a new dimension to the nation's military prowess. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has termed Operation Sindoor the 'biggest action taken against terrorism in Indian history."

Pakistani generals use terrorists as proxy to make themselves relevant: BJP MP Prasad
Pakistani generals use terrorists as proxy to make themselves relevant: BJP MP Prasad

The Print

time42 minutes ago

  • The Print

Pakistani generals use terrorists as proxy to make themselves relevant: BJP MP Prasad

The nine-member delegation, which visited France, Italy, Denmark, the UK, Belgium and Germany from May 25 to June 7, has returned home. Addressing a press conference here, Prasad, who led the Indian delegation, said India's stand on the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike and Operation Sindoor was 'appreciated' by the foreign interlocutors including parliamentarians, ministers and think tanks, during meetings with them. New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) A multi-party delegation which visited six European countries to convey India's position on cross-border terrorism told foreign interlocutors that military-terror nexus in Pakistan is the main hurdle in peace between New Delhi and Islamabad, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Tuesday. 'We clarified (to them) that we are not against the people of Pakistan. The problem is Pakistan's generals (Army) with whom Pakistan's people are also fed up,' Prasad told reporters.. He said the Indian delegation conveyed during its meetings with the European leaders that the world has to understand that Pakistan is in the grip of 'military generals whose dirty jobs are done by terrorists and their training camps'. 'In the new set-up in Pakistan, they use terrorism as a proxy. Pakistani generals used these terrorists and their camps as the proxy to make themselves relevant. That's why there could not be any peace,' he added. 'We also said every government in India, irrespective of the party in power, tried to improve relations with Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited (ex-Pakistan PM) Nawaz Sharif on his oath ceremony. He even went to attend his grandson's marriage also. Then Uri and Pulwama (terror strikes) happened,' the BJP MP said. Prasad said the Indian delegation also told the foreign leaders that Pakistan is not only a state in denial but the military-terror nexus in Pakistan has become a 'deadly combination'. 'We talked about history. We also said that Pakistan remained in the hands of generals (Army) for about 55 years,' he said. PTI PK PK KVK KVK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of ‘kidnapping' crew on Gaza aid boat Madleen
Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of ‘kidnapping' crew on Gaza aid boat Madleen

Hindustan Times

timean hour ago

  • Hindustan Times

Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of ‘kidnapping' crew on Gaza aid boat Madleen

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday accused Israel of "kidnapping us in international waters and taking us against our will to Israel" after security forces intercepted a boat carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. "This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing," Thunberg, 22, told reporters on arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris after being deported from Israel. She stressed that her own experience was "nothing compared to what the Palestinians are going through". Of the 12 people on board the Madleen carrying food and supplies for Gaza, five French activists were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily. But Thunberg, who rose to fame as a schoolgirl activist against climate change and seeks to avoid flying because of its environmental impact, was deported by Israel on a commercial flight of national airline El Al bound for Paris. "This is not the real story. The real story is there is a genocide going on in Gaza and systematic starvation," said Greta Thunberg. Several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza but Israel vehemently rejects the term. The vessel carrying French, German, Brazilian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish and Dutch activists had the stated aim of delivering humanitarian aid and breaking the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory. Israel intercepted the Madleen about 185 kilometres (115 miles) west of the coast of Gaza. Thunberg said what happened to the vessel was a "continuation and violation of international law and war crimes that are being systematically committed by Israel by not letting aid in" to Gaza. "This was a mission of attempting to once again bring aid to Gaza and send solidarity. And saw we cannot," she said. She also denounced what she termed the "silence and passivity" of governments worldwide over what was taking place in Gaza. "There are no words to describe the betrayal that is happening every day by our own governments," she said. Admitting she was "desperately in need of a shower", Thunberg vowed to carry on her campaign. "We will not stop. We will try every single day to demand an end to the atrocities Israel is carrying out". The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,981 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store