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| Pathankot attack and Pakistan Army | |
By Manzoor Ahmed
It may be early to convincingly prove Pakistan Army’s direct role in the Pathankot attack but there cannot be any doubt that an attack of this audacity and magnitude could not have happened without the Generals’ nod and knowledge.
A quick analysis of the events shows that it was a well-planned attack on a secure military installation across the border. This is not an easy task to carry out. First the terrorists had to infiltrate through the border patrolling and checkposts on the side of Pakistan and then on the Indian side. The fact that they did, with heavy arms and ammunition, showed complicity on the part of the security forces on the Pakistan border. On the Indian side, it was a major breach and failure of the security personnel.
It is useful to understand the nature of Pakistan security forces—the International border is manned by Pakistan Rangers which is headed by a serving military officer. In effect, the Rangers are an auxiliary wing of the army unlike the Border Security Force on the Indian side. So if there is a signal from GHQ, the Rangers would look the other way, or better still help the terrorists to infiltrate through the Indian border using known smuggling routes.
The terrorists then travelled quite a bit through the Indian territory without being detected. This meant ample reconnaissance and advance knowledge of the terrain, the layout and the security in place. The ease with which the terrorists travelled through the border town to reach the airbase showed the possibility of trial runs. Such elaborate planning and mapping have to be the handiwork of experienced military personnel.
Besides, the terrorists knew the air force base quite well and such good terrain knowledge of a secure military installation could only have been imparted by Pakistan Army personnel. It also indicates the extensive use of mapping software and other gadgets to give the terrorists a clear layout of the target. The fact that the Indian security personnel could not eliminate six of the suicide attackers for over 72 hours proved how well versed each terrorist was about the terrain, sabotage, counter-offensive operations and subversion tactics. They were obviously trained like commandos, much like what Mohammad Ajmal Kasab and nine others were before they attacked Mumbai in November 2008.
It is now known that Kasab and his team were trained by Pakistan Army personnel. The key accused, Kasab, had given detailed description of his military training which was later corroborated by another accused, David Coleman Headley. This training was conducted by serving and ex-Pak Army personnel. The modus operandi of the Pathankot and the manner in which the terrorists were able to resist capture or elimination, even after being isolated and working alone amidst a fairly big military operation against them, showed the level and intensity of their training and uncanny similarity to the Mumbai attackers.
Interestingly, it has been known for some time that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), one of the two key proxy forces of Pakistan Army, have been training their recruits in similar commando regimen. At least for the last six years, that is a year after the Mumbai attacks, there have been consistent reports that JeM has been on a recruiting spree, focussing mainly on inducing young boys between the age of 8 to 15 with money and dreams of becoming martyrs.
The recruits are first trained in a large complex on the river Sutlej in Bahawalpur district, north of the village of Ahmedpur East and in a madrasa run by JeM leader Masood Azhar’s confidant, Maulana Al Hajii. These centres are primarily used for indoctrination and preliminary combat training. The `graduates` of these centres are then sent to advance training camps in FATA where they are trained in suicide missions and other combat methods.
According to Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, a well respected Pakistani scholar who has been investigating JeM and its expansion in the recent years, the recruitment and training given by JeM at Bahawalpur replicated the kind of training given to LeT cadres. She believes that the fact that JeM could recruit and train so openly was proof enough of Pak Army’s complicity. She said it was almost impossible for JeM to operate in Bahawalpur without the Army’s knowledge simply because it is where the army’s 31st Corps Command is located. In fact, the Corps HQ is located just a few kilometres from JeM’s operational headquarters where guards with AK-47 publicly patrol the periphery of the high-walled compound. The JeM has training centres in Karachi and Peshawar, all of which is known to Pakistan Army.
These are unambiguous dots of evidence which, if connected, leads to the doorstep of Pakistan Army. In all probability, the Pathankot attack, like the one on Mumbai in 2008, was planned and executed by ISI’s S wing, a shadowy part of Pakistan Army staffed by `retired`officers and men which manages the jihad against India.
(The author is a Kashmir based Freelance Journalist)
(Disclaimer: The views, observations and opinions expressed in above write up of Scoop News are strictly author's own. Scoop News does not take any onus or liability for the veracity, accuracy, validity, completeness, suitability of any of information in the above given write up. The information, facts or figures appearing in the write up in no way manifest the position, standpoint or stance of Scoop News and the Scoop News does not assume any encumbrance or answerability of the same.)
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