Who is to blame? Another terrorist attack indicates a strong revival of terrorism by Pakistan in the Rajouri-Poonch range; Anti-terrorist operations likely

Who is to blame? Another terrorist attack indicates a strong revival of terrorism by Pakistan in the Rajouri-Poonch range; Anti-terrorist operations likely

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH/RAJOURI: Regular attempts from Pakistan to disturb the sensitive Rajouri-Poonch range are a clear indication that the enemy nation, through its terrorists and OGWs, seems to have chalked out a well-thought-out strategy to revive terrorism in this sensitive range. Dhangri attack, BG-1 and BG-2 (Bhatadurian) attacks, and now the latest Dera ki Gali attack, in which five soldiers have sacrificed their lives for the nation, have raised big security concerns for the people of the region.

Moreover, the deaths of three citizens under mysterious circumstances have also caused serious distress. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during his visit to Rajouri, in the presence of LG J&K UT Manoj Sinha and Army Chief Gen Manoj Pandey, raised the morale of the forces, but at the same time, after meeting the affected families, he hinted that the forces need to win the hearts of the people by doing their duties professionally, indirectly referring to the unfortunate incident in which three locals died under mysterious circumstances. It is important to mention here that, in addition to the surge in terrorist attacks, the Degwar poster incident directing the minority communities to leave the area and the grenade blast near the temple in Surankote are seen as an attempt by Pakistan to disturb the peace by reviving terrorist activities in the region. During all the major attacks in the Rajouri-Poonch range, terrorists seem to have applied the strategy of “first attack and then remain silent” to dodge the security forces because in all the major attacks, there was a huge gap, and due to this strategy of terrorists, they got success in their plan, as seen from the last few attacks. The inability of security forces and intelligence agencies to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Dhangri, BG, and Bhatadurian attacks, and now the latest Dera ki Gali attack, is seen as a big jolt against the fight against the revival of terrorism in the sensitive Rajouri-Poonch range. The latest developments from an internal security point of view have led to building the assumption in the minds of the common man that if security forces are not safe, then who will protect the common man of Poonch, particularly the minorities, going by the recent incident of pasting posters in the Degwar area and a grenade blast near Surankote temple? As the security forces and intelligence agencies were working to solve the earlier Dhangri and Bhatadurian attacks, this Dera Ki Gali(DKG) attack has raised a big question mark again on the intelligence grid, and such regular attacks in the same region have proved the statement of the former intelligence chief right again, who said that Surankote, BG, and Mendhar areas have a huge chunk of OGWs of Pakistan who are working in a silent mode. In that statement, he also said that earlier intelligence agencies were used to get input from the locals, but what worried him is the fact that the people in sensitive pockets near the affected region have gone silent, and that’s not a good factor from an intelligence gathering point of view. The observation of the former intelligence chief of the country has proved right until now. Moreover, the mysterious killings of three locals will make things worse for intelligence agencies from input-gathering points of view, according to security experts. On the killings of local people, an inquiry has been initiated, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during his visit to Rajouri, also said that appropriate steps will be taken. However, the revival of terrorism in the sensitive border region of Poonch-Rajouri has become a big security concern for the intelligence agencies, and the inability on the part of the security forces to form a comprehensive strategy to wipe off signs of a revival of terrorism is giving sleepless nights to the people, particularly the minorities. Minorities feel that if the Poonch police have failed to solve the 2016 Shri Dashnami Akhara grenade blast, in which more than fifteen people were injured, then expecting police to solve the Degwar poster and Surankote blast incidents would be out of the box. Question marks have also been raised on the local agencies of police for years, as some people with political backgrounds are seen managing their postings again and again in the local agencies without producing a good output, thereby playing with the security of the nation with a weak work culture. Sources with hawk eyes on terror-related events said that more than 20 terror camps and 38 launching pads have been activated by Pakistan near the LOC where retired Pak army soldiers are providing commando training to the terrorists, and it clearly shows that Pak has planned to activate this Rajouri-Poonch border belt again. It is important to mention here that twenty-one army soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the six encounters in the Rajouri-Poonch range this year.  However, after the latest DKG incident, reports available with “POONCH TODAY” said that massive anti-militancy operations are likely in the region as adequate forces have arrived. Moreover, changes in the police setup in the Rajouri-Poonch range are also on the cards to strengthen the police with the posting of strong officers, as the existing set of officers holding important positions has failed to meet the expectations of the government, sources said. Meanwhile, who is to blame for the repeated failure to detect terror strikes in the region? It’s a million-dollar question. The revival of terrorism in the region has become a big public concern, and all-out efforts are needed from the government to strengthen the intelligence grid of the security forces in identifying the OGWs who seem to be working strategically to implement the plans of the terrorists on the ground, and the delay in it will force the Rajouri-Poonch region to suffer heavily again in the future.