Win over locals to combat terror

IT was most gracious of the BJP-led government to admit its failure to anticipate the Pahalgam attack and recite the ‘mea culpa’ at an all-party meeting. It is customary for the party in power to deflect blame or cite excuses when such glaring lapses happen. This was perhaps the first time in recent memory that a defaulter accepted blame. By doing the unthinkable, it united the entire country solidly behind it.

As a former IPS officer who was in the forefront of the fight against terror in Punjab in the 1980s, I will refresh the memory of my readers about the intrinsic nature of terrorism. As the word ‘terrorism’ indicates, terrorists strive to create terror in the minds of their victims and the population at large. They do this through random killings of innocent people who normally keep as far away from the predators as grazing deer keep from the big cats.

Surprise is the key to success. Terrorists strike when and where they are least likely to. Amritsar and Tarn Taran were their happy hunting grounds when they began their depredations. When those districts were fully covered by security forces, they struck at hitherto soft targets in the interior. If the Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir had studied the history of Punjab’s terrorism, he would not have left his flanks unguarded.

Tourists had started flocking to Pahalgam in recent weeks. Tourist operators had found a vast meadow where school picnics were routinely organised as it was ideal for pony rides. If the beat policemen had been doing their job well, they would have been in a position to provide the human intelligence (Humint) to their seniors and the latter would have alerted Srinagar about this tourist destination.

The importance of beat policing and Humint was obviously not sufficiently appreciated by those entrusted with the operations. It is only locals who can give information about the presence of strangers or about unusual movements in their localities. They will share such suspicions with the beat policeman if he has been interacting with them and they trust him.

Local residents are central and crucial to policing even in normal times. In terrorism-affected states, they spell the difference between life and death. When some local elements are roped in by terrorist syndicates, the importance of Humint multiplies manifold.

The importance of treating locals with the respect and dignity which every human being expects and is entitled to is highlighted during times of terror activities. When they feel that they are part and parcel of the government’s fight against terrorism, they will part with the crucial information needed to plan defensive measures.

Terrorists are invariably co-religionists of the majority of the population. It would be unnatural for these locals not to harbour sneaking sympathy for them. The task of the security forces is compounded by this unspoken sympathy, which vanishes if and when the terrorists misbehave with the people, especially women.

Terrorism has been described as a low-cost war. Not without a reason has this description stuck. Terrorism is invariably resorted to by the weaker party to a conflict. The weaker is not in a position to best the stronger in regular combat. It then takes recourse to terror by killing innocent citizens who are not even remotely connected with the dispute against the state. Terrorists hope that the terrorised will put pressure on the state to concede to their unreasonable demands.

No government in recorded history has given in to terrorists. Terrorism has never succeeded in achieving its objectives. Yet, the scourge continues. The only known solution to this low-cost war is to win over the hearts and minds of the local population. Since the locals are co-religionists of the miscreants, that is not easy. But it can happen with effort.

Punjab got rid of the scourge after Jat Sikh farmers started informing the police about the presence of terrorists in their villages. The police, led by KPS Gill, put unbearable pressure on the farmers, forcing them to cooperate with the security forces.

When a state is afflicted by terrorism, local conditions have to be studied before plans are made. In J&K, the LG, who still oversees anti-terrorist operations and the maintenance of law and order, appears to have lapsed into complacency. This proved fatal. In terrorism-affected areas, you cannot afford to let your guard down even for a moment.

Amit Shah, who helms the Home Ministry, has phoned all chief ministers to prepare a list of Pakistanis who are staying in their states on visas. Deportation appears to be a knee-jerk reaction. Pakistanis who are on the Intelligence Bureau’s radar may be told to leave, but most of the others would be harmless. Some have come for medical attention. There is nothing to be gained by deporting them.

Our intelligence should take the help of friendly countries whose agents are often better placed than ours to trace the perpetrators of the attack and their handlers in Pakistan. The culprits should be identified and dealt with. It will involve a battle of wits between Pakistani’s ISI and our Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). If we are to avenge the Pahalgam attack, R&AW needs to emerge victorious. It is capable of doing that.

When the Pahalgam massacre was reported in the media, the entire country reacted as one entity. Even the Muslims of Kashmir, on whose behalf the terrorists felt they were acting, were furious. This one act of terror had hit them where it hurts most — their livelihoods.

The Modi government should have based its reply to Pakistan on this collective anger of the people, cutting across religions. Instead, it resorted to dynamiting the houses of the purported terrorists. The priority assigned to this short-cut measure is emblematic of this government. It keeps boasting that it is a strong government, unlike its predecessors. Lost in self-praise, it lapsed into complacency.

What it urgently needs to do is to replace its muscular philosophy of policing with the age-old conclusion of experts that the only way to end terrorism is to win the hearts and minds of the community to which the terrorists belong.

Comments