The recent spate in violence in Jammu sector has been unprecedented and apocalyptic to an extent that has caught the security apparatus unguarded. It has established Pakistan’s ‘intent’ and ‘capability’ to not only prosecute incidents of violence but also drive the narrative of hybrid operations as part of overall proxy war construct in J&K. In the last 34 months, almost 50 casualties have been inflicted in the contiguous geographical belts of Rajouri and Jammu. The terrorists have targeted civilians, VDC members and security forces with disdain on multiple occasions. The audacity, frequency and viciousness of these attacks raise serious concerns about the resurgence of terrorist networks in the region, bringing into light the involvement of locals and sympathizers.
The notion of normalcy which was professed boisterously both by the security apparatus and the political dispensation has been dispelled in the most brutal manner securing a larger victory for the antagonists in the perception domain. While it does necessitate a fresh appraisal of force deployment in the Jammu sector, what is more important is to decipher the overall design of the Pakistan Army-ISI-Terrorist nexus and determine counter leverages to retain asymmetric edge in the counter terrorist operations.
While Jammu has historically demonstrated a sense of morality and responsibility in the face of such attacks, the potential for these incidents to spark communal violence remains high. The spectrum of violence also raises questions on the OGW network which was claimed to have been dismantled to a large extent. Lack of human as well as technical intelligence is an important pre requisite for successful counter terrorist operations which has been lacking in response.
Recalibration of the strategic framework, is therefore need of the hour to overcome this fresh challenge. Important precepts which merit consideration while chartering the future course of action in Jammu sector are: –
- Re-invigoration of the joint mechanism for prosecution of counter terrorist operations based on seamless synergy between JKP, Indian Army and CAPF units.
- Sharing of intelligence by various agencies and stakeholders has been hierarchical with limited permeability at the tactical level. There is an immediate need to evolve systems and procedures for generating common intelligence picture without any iron shades or departmental exclusivity.
- Human intelligence has suffered in the recent years with greater reliance on technology. While reaching out to the old sources, a concerted effort has to be made to recruit new assets with high potential of deliverance.
- The orientation of security forces in Jammu and Mamun based formations is not aligned to tackle common hybrid threats which have manifested in their respective area of responsibility recently. There is a need to develop capacities which are aligned to existential challenges of these forces in case their prolonged employment in counter terrorist operations is visualized.
- The area of operations along NH44 corridor and in the Jammu plains cannot be managed by the existing resources available with JKP and Army formations. Induction of additional CAPF troops is inevitable to dominate the critical spaces effectively.
- Induction of new technologies and platforms is critical to enable security forces for executing counter terrorist operations. Niche technologies especially in the domain of detection and remote targeting of threats can deliver decisive edge in combat operations.
It is prudent that a comprehensive action plan is drawn up to dominate the complete paradigm of counter terrorist response reenergizing the ladder from grassroots level upwards. Concurrently, Pakistan’s involvement would have to be flagged more vociferously to discredit the false narrative of home-grown struggle.
Blog By: CS3 Scholars.