Terror And The Aftermath

As reporters covering conflict, seniors had trained us to look not just for the administrative failure, but the politics surrounding the violence. So while the one aspect of the horrific terror attack that mowed down 26 innocent tourists holidaying in Kashmir is clearly intelligence failure, the absence of security, the hours taken to bring relief, medical attention and protection to the terrified tourists screaming for help, there is the other aspect – the aftermath—that is as important.

The central government has held some meetings and is expected to look seriously at the major intelligence and security lapse that allowed the terrorists time to execute an ambitious plan with such ease. Ambitious as it had at least three important stages of which at least one should have been detected by the intelligence agencies or the security forces in Kashmir. But they failed abysmally.

One, involved the mapping and pinpointing of the tourist spot to be targeted, as the killing of visitors from different parts of India would achieve the maximum shock effect for the terrorists behind the barbaric killing. They were able to zoom in on Baisaran in tourist destination Pahalgam, largely because it is accessible only by foot or pony rides, and attracts hordes of tourists every season. This would delay counter action, as it indeed did, with the relatives crying about the inaccessibility and the long wait for help. The second advantage that the terrorists had clearly had mapped was the absence of security. Several tourists who had visited Baisaran earlier said they had never noticed any security presence in the area, despite the inaccessibility and the fact that it was a holiday destination. There was no protection. A young child whose father was killed told reporters that there was no security visible at all. The plot remained undetected by the different agencies flooding Kashmir.

Two, was the movement of the terrorists in Kashmir. Of the four (or five or six) suspects, at least two are said to be Pakistanis with links to a Resistance Front, in short to one or the other of the terrorist groups that Pakistan continues to nurture..The other two are locals, according to the government sourced media reports, who were most likely trained in Pakistan and came back undetected. Usually, as security experts say, there is a back up which means that more than the two involved in the attack must have infiltrated the tight borders and moved around in Kashmir to reach Pahalgam finally. They must have merged with the locals and the tourists thronging the spot, to finally unleash their terror on hapless Indians out on a holiday in Kashmir. The precise number of terrorists involved is still not clear with the figure varying between four and six.

And Three - the precision of the dastardly attack. It started with the terrorists appearing from seemingly nowhere, as the tourists have said; specifically targeting the men folk, and escaping with ease. All the 26 killed were men, the discrimination clearly not being religion, but gender.The terrorists were well trained, arrived quietly, picked their targets, and hit with brutal precision. They left after destroying lives in about ten minutes of violence, following an exit route that seems to have helped them escape.

The government and the intelligence and security agencies have their work cut out for them. The entire plan has to be unravelled - from the entry to the exit— for the authorities to declare that Kashmir has been secured. Without this, the infiltration holes will only expand to favour terrorism and embolden the perpetrators.

But as our seniors would say, this is for journalists to point out and for the government to take action. Some of it will be shared, some not, but any government actually combating terrorism will ensure that the plot is uncovered, the perpetrators actually detected and arrested, and all the glaring loopholes secured to begin with. The next step will of course be to tighten security and intelligence for which heads might need to roll.

But having said this the second important aspect also has the potential to shake the foundations of India – the politics. It is absolutely imperative for the government and the people to secure India with unity and love, and not create fissures that cut into human relations and create more fear and terror. Kashmir actually understood this starting with the brave 28 year old pony guide Syed Adil Hussain Shah who grappled with the terrorists, and tried to stop them from killing the innocent Indians. He was shot dead, the only bread earner in his struggling family. Survivors have gone on record to speak of the kindness and generosity of Kashmiris who did not charge a paisa for rides to hospitals or airports. They worked ceaselessly to ferry the families out of the area, and opened their homes and hearts to those in need. Videos of such heartwarming accounts are fortunately on social media, hopefully blunting the nasty polarising reportage of the owned media.

Kashmiris shut shop — the rest of India did not shut a day of the IPL— and took out a huge procession condemning terrorism and the attack. As many of them said in interviews to the media, for them it was all about terror and not religion; and those killed were like their family as well. This was a major statement from the Valley, a sign that terrorism does not have local support; that the people are fed up of violence as they have indeed been for a long long time; that compassion and humanity still prevails.

Unfortunately voices permeating the fog from the mainland are of different tone and tenor. The media started by building hate and polarisation around the terror attack that had everyone in tears, and has continued building a narrative that is intended clearly to subdue the voices of harmony such as of the young woman from Gujarat who could speak only in glowing terms about the help they got from the locals. Will you come back for a holiday here, were the questions these persons masquerading as journalists were heard asking the survivors living through deep trauma.

Mobs came out to attack Kashmiri students in different states, with videos of the beatings being posted on social media to spread terror of another kind. Frightened Muslims are being attacked as well, their shops and carts smashed in a frenzy that sought to derive its legitimacy from a terror attack in Kashmir. Videos of hate speech are being circulated all over social media, creating more fear and terror as the days progress. A big section of citizens of India are feeling the pressure for something they have no links with, no support for.

The terror attack has happened and the government can now only ensure thatsuch violence is curtailed by tightening the security and intelligence apparatus, and plugging all loopholes. But in the aftermath, it is well within its jurisdiction and ability to prevent terror from taking over other parts of India, by restraining the mobs, securing the people, and coming out with a loud message of peace and harmony inside the country.

The terrorist weighs his success through a mission accomplished, not just through the number of dead bodies strewn but the terror he has managed to spread and the hate he has succeeded in generating. Hence,the solid and strong way to face the aftermath and counter the barbaric mission is by ensuring unity and peace at home, and denying the terrorist and his mentors and the terror industry (be it Pakistan or elsewhere) victory!