NEW DELHI: In a U-turn of sorts, the Centre on Wednesday said the Pulwama terror attack was not a “failure of intelligence”. This is in contrast to a statement made by Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik who had reportedly accepted lapses by the state administration and the security forces.
Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy responded in the negative when asked in the Rajya Sabha whether the reasons of Pulwama terror attack was a failure of intelligence. He said all agencies work in a coordinated manner and the intelligence inputs are shared among various agencies on a real-time basis.
The security grid was caught unawares at the time of the attack unleashed by Pakistan-backed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Ahead of the Pulwama attack, security forces had intelligence inputs about an IED attack and a number of alerts about likely fidayeen attacks but they were not specific inputs, media reports had claimed.
Reddy was responding to questions posed by Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain who also asked how did the bomber, who was in a car, join the highway from a slip road carrying around 300 kg of explosives when there was no intelligence failure.
To this, the minister said that J&K has been affected by terrorism sponsored and supported from across the border for the last three decades. “Owing to the policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and sustained an action against the terrorists by the forces, a large number of terrorists have been neutralized during the past few years,” he said.