Lessons from Pulwama terror charge sheet
The fact that the National Investigation Agency charge sheet filed in a Jammu court on Tuesday in the Pulwama terrorist strike case runs into nearly 13,500 pages points to an exhaustive investigation by the premier probe agency. The NIA has meticulously traced how those behind one of the biggest terror strikes in India planned and executed the attack.
But the charge sheet will be viewed in many quarters as just a procedural legal formality the investigating agency had to go through. This is because the biggest masterminds of such attacks and the terror factories they run are all based in Pakistan, about which India can do little. Remember, Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Maulana Masood Azhar, charged in the Pulwama strike, has also been named in the 2016 Pathankot Air Force base attack. Similarly, Hafiz Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and many others were charge sheeted for the 26/11 Mumbai attack. Yet, they are scot free in Pakistan.
Two of the most striking features of the Pulwama charge sheet are the ease with which Umer Farooq, Masood Azhar’s nephew, sneaked into India in April 2018 to carry out the attack and the local support the foreign terrorists got. The charge sheet says Farooq entered India through a tunnel. This brings into question the effectiveness of fencing along the border and the LoC. For years, the high-tech border fencing has been touted as the solution for cross-border infiltration.
But it is clear from experience the world over that fencing alone is not a foolproof method to stop such infiltration. Crores of rupees have been sunk on the fencing, closed circuit cameras, thermal imaging devices and movement sensors. But they have been unable to stop infiltration. The other major point is the participation of local recruits.
Of the 19 terrorists named, 13 are Kashmiris, including a woman and the suicide bomber. The dastardly attack would not have been possible without the help and shelter they provided to the Pakistani attackers. If media reports are to be believed, the local suicide bomber himself volunteered to be the fidayeen. It’s time the government, policymakers and even civil society members address these issues urgently.